Healthcare Access in Rural Communities – Resources
Selected recent or important resources focusing on Healthcare Access in Rural Communities.
The Justice Gap: The Unmet Civil Legal Needs of Low-Income Americans
Reports on civil legal needs experienced by low-income Americans who do not seek professional legal help and the paths they take when facing civil legal problems. Includes information on legal needs related to healthcare access and other issues that impact health, such as housing and COVID-19. Provides details for specific groups, including rural residents, seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, parents of children under 18, and domestic violence survivors.
Additional links: Executive Summary, Full Report, Special Focus Rural
Date: 04/2022
Sponsoring organization: Legal Services Corporation
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Reports on civil legal needs experienced by low-income Americans who do not seek professional legal help and the paths they take when facing civil legal problems. Includes information on legal needs related to healthcare access and other issues that impact health, such as housing and COVID-19. Provides details for specific groups, including rural residents, seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, parents of children under 18, and domestic violence survivors.
Additional links: Executive Summary, Full Report, Special Focus Rural
Date: 04/2022
Sponsoring organization: Legal Services Corporation
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Health Panel Comment Letter – Access to Coverage and Care in Medicaid & CHIP
Offers comments in response to the Access to Coverage and Care in Medicaid and CHIP Request for Information. Discusses ways the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) can support states in addressing barriers to enrollment and retention, minimum access standards, and monitoring care availability and access to care.
Date: 04/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Offers comments in response to the Access to Coverage and Care in Medicaid and CHIP Request for Information. Discusses ways the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) can support states in addressing barriers to enrollment and retention, minimum access standards, and monitoring care availability and access to care.
Date: 04/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Partnering for Rural Transportation with Alisa Druzba and Steve Workman
An episode of the Exploring Rural Health podcast featuring Alisa Druzba and Steve Workman. Describes the development of the New Hampshire Mobility Management Network and how it provides options for rural residents. Focuses on the role of collaboration among local, state, and federal agencies in supporting long-term sustainability for transportation services.
Date: 04/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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An episode of the Exploring Rural Health podcast featuring Alisa Druzba and Steve Workman. Describes the development of the New Hampshire Mobility Management Network and how it provides options for rural residents. Focuses on the role of collaboration among local, state, and federal agencies in supporting long-term sustainability for transportation services.
Date: 04/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Public Transportation's Role in Rural Healthcare Access with Carol Wright Kenderdine
An episode of the Exploring Rural Health podcast featuring Carol Wright Kenderdine. Discusses transportation needs and challenges faced by rural older adults and people with disabilities. Explains the role of rural public transit agencies, national resources available to support transit, and how COVID-19 has spurred innovation in rural transportation.
Date: 03/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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An episode of the Exploring Rural Health podcast featuring Carol Wright Kenderdine. Discusses transportation needs and challenges faced by rural older adults and people with disabilities. Explains the role of rural public transit agencies, national resources available to support transit, and how COVID-19 has spurred innovation in rural transportation.
Date: 03/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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How States Can Expand Health Care Access in Rural Communities
Discusses policy options states could use to increase access to care and the supply of healthcare providers in rural areas. Covers financial assistance programs for medical and dental education; malpractice reform; scope of practice changes for advanced practice registered nurses, physician assistants, and dental health aide therapists; telemedicine parity; and mobile clinics.
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: Center for American Progress
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Discusses policy options states could use to increase access to care and the supply of healthcare providers in rural areas. Covers financial assistance programs for medical and dental education; malpractice reform; scope of practice changes for advanced practice registered nurses, physician assistants, and dental health aide therapists; telemedicine parity; and mobile clinics.
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: Center for American Progress
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The Problem Of The Color Line: Spatial Access To Hospital Services For Minoritized Racial And Ethnic Groups
Study examining healthcare access by race and geography, covering distances to hospital services for minoritized ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZTCAs). Discusses factors that lead to disparities in access for rural minority communities, including policy, rural hospital closures, and safety-net program issues.
Additional links: Story Map: The Problem Of The Color Line
Author(s): Jan M. Eberth, Peiyin Hung, Gabriel A. Benavidez, et al.
Citation: Health Affairs, 41(2), 237-246
Date: 02/2022
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Study examining healthcare access by race and geography, covering distances to hospital services for minoritized ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZTCAs). Discusses factors that lead to disparities in access for rural minority communities, including policy, rural hospital closures, and safety-net program issues.
Additional links: Story Map: The Problem Of The Color Line
Author(s): Jan M. Eberth, Peiyin Hung, Gabriel A. Benavidez, et al.
Citation: Health Affairs, 41(2), 237-246
Date: 02/2022
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High-Performing Rural Health System
Update to the September 2011 RUPRI Health Panel document "The High Performance Rural Health Care System of the Future." Describes affordable and accessible healthcare for all rural residents through a sustainable system delivering high quality, high value services. Defines pillars of accessibility, affordability, community health, and quality.
Author(s): Andrew Coburn, Alva O. Ferdinand, Alana Knudson, et al.
Date: 01/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Update to the September 2011 RUPRI Health Panel document "The High Performance Rural Health Care System of the Future." Describes affordable and accessible healthcare for all rural residents through a sustainable system delivering high quality, high value services. Defines pillars of accessibility, affordability, community health, and quality.
Author(s): Andrew Coburn, Alva O. Ferdinand, Alana Knudson, et al.
Date: 01/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Does Primary Care Availability Mediate the Relationship Between Rurality and Lower Life Expectancy in the United States?
Analyzes if the availability of primary care providers (PCPs) is a factor in life expectancy outcomes in rural areas. Utilizes county-level statistics for the years 2010, 2015, and 2017 to see if rural counties with higher PCP density trended toward higher life expectancy. Includes descriptive statistics that show rural versus urban comparisons for life expectancy, race/ethnicity, education level, income, insurance and employment status, rate of elderly residents, and access to/cost of medical care.
Author(s): Arjun Sharma, Sanjay Basu
Citation: Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, 13
Date: 2022
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Analyzes if the availability of primary care providers (PCPs) is a factor in life expectancy outcomes in rural areas. Utilizes county-level statistics for the years 2010, 2015, and 2017 to see if rural counties with higher PCP density trended toward higher life expectancy. Includes descriptive statistics that show rural versus urban comparisons for life expectancy, race/ethnicity, education level, income, insurance and employment status, rate of elderly residents, and access to/cost of medical care.
Author(s): Arjun Sharma, Sanjay Basu
Citation: Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, 13
Date: 2022
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Trends in Racial, Ethnic, Sex, and Rural-Urban Inequities in Health Care in Medicare Advantage: 2009-2018
Presents an analysis of historical trends in inequities by race and ethnicity, sex, and rural-urban residence among Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans nationwide. Uses patient experience and clinical care measures to examine how inequities in healthcare have changed between 2009 and 2018, how scores for each beneficiary group have changed over time, and which inequities remained in 2018.
Date: 12/2021
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, RAND Corporation
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Presents an analysis of historical trends in inequities by race and ethnicity, sex, and rural-urban residence among Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans nationwide. Uses patient experience and clinical care measures to examine how inequities in healthcare have changed between 2009 and 2018, how scores for each beneficiary group have changed over time, and which inequities remained in 2018.
Date: 12/2021
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, RAND Corporation
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Health Disparities in Rural Women
Discusses the health disparities that exist for rural women in all categories of women's health, including obstetric and gynecologic outcomes and access to care. Covers programs to improve healthcare services for rural women and recommendations to reduce health disparities.
Date: 11/2021
Sponsoring organization: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
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Discusses the health disparities that exist for rural women in all categories of women's health, including obstetric and gynecologic outcomes and access to care. Covers programs to improve healthcare services for rural women and recommendations to reduce health disparities.
Date: 11/2021
Sponsoring organization: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
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Last Updated: 4/7/2025