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Healthcare Access in Rural Communities – Resources

Selected recent or important resources focusing on Healthcare Access in Rural Communities.

Health Insurance Exchanges: HHS Should Enhance Its Management of Open Enrollment Performance
Reports on outreach and enrollment for the health insurance exchanges using Healthcare.gov. Examines 2018 open enrollment outcomes and related factors, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) outreach efforts for 2018, and HHS's 2018 enrollment goals. Includes discussion of how changes in funding impacted outreach in rural areas. Provides data on Healthcare.gov enrollees in rural and urban areas.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 07/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Characteristics of the Remaining Uninsured: An Update
Compares characteristics of people who lacked health insurance in March 2015 with those of people who remained uninsured as of March 2017. Uses data from the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplements, including socioeconomic and demographic characteristics and insurance eligibility, with breakdowns by urban and rural locations.
Author(s): Linea J. Blumberg, John Holahan, Michael Karpman, Caroline Elmendorf
Date: 07/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Urban Institute
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Health Insurance Coverage by Occupation Among Adults Aged 18–64 Years — 17 States, 2013–2014
Examines changes in health insurance coverage between 2013 and 2014. Includes data on health insurance among employed workers by selected characteristics, including rural residence. Provides health insurance data by occupational group. Reports on 17 states that asked all Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey participants about healthcare coverage and asked employed participants about their industry and occupation.
Author(s): Winifred L. Boal, Jia Li, Aaron Sussell
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 67(21), 593-598
Date: 06/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Providing Access to Mental Health Services for Children in Rural Areas
Policy brief discussing options for improving access to mental health services for rural children, including telemedicine, integration of behavioral health and primary care, and school-based care. Features 3 brief case studies.
Date: 05/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Leveraging Health Care Reform to Accelerate Nurse Practitioner Full Practice Authority
Presents a descriptive study of legislation from 1994 to 2016 impacting the scope of practice for nurse practitioners (NPs). Discusses how supporting full practice authority (FPA) where physician involvement is not required can lessen the concern over the lack of primary care providers by allowing NPs to offer comprehensive healthcare services to rural and vulnerable patients. Identifies barriers and limitations to FPA.
Author(s): Heather M. Brom, Pamela J. Salsberry, Margaret Clark Graham
Citation: Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 30(3), 120-130
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
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State-Based Marketplaces Outperform Federally-Facilitated Marketplaces
Compares state-based and federally-facilitated health insurance marketplaces from 2016-2018 related to changes in premiums and number of insurers. Includes some information on nonmetropolitan counties, with the appendix providing charts comparing carrier count in metro and nonmetro counties.
Additional links: Appendix
Author(s): Jane M. Zhu, Daniel Polsky, Yuehan Zhang
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics
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Competition and Premium Costs in Single-insurer Marketplaces: A Study of Five Rural States
Examines participation in the individual health insurance market from 2010, before the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), through 2017 and analyzes premium changes in 5 rural states with a single-insurer health insurance marketplace. States include Alabama, Alaska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wyoming.
Author(s): Jon R. Gabel, Heidi Whitmore, Matthew Green, Sam Stromberg
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
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Geographic Access to Mammography Facilities and Frequency of Mammography Screening
Explores a study on the role location plays in mammography utilization. Draws data from the Wisconsin Women's Health Study and uses Rural Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) codes to determine the distance women would have to travel to a mammography facility.
Author(s): Patricia I. Jewett, Ronald E. Gangnon, Elena Elkin, et al.
Citation: Annals of Epidemiology, 28(2), 65-71
Date: 02/2018
Type: Document
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Distance and Networks: A Regional Analysis of Health Insurance Marketplaces
Examines whether Rating Area design and network adequacy standards have contributed to the level of success of Health Insurance Marketplaces (HIMs) in rural areas in terms of enrollment and affordability. Uses 2015-2016 data from 15 Midwestern states, on participation, premiums, and enrollment success.
Author(s): Abigail R. Barker, Alena R. Wheeler, Leah M. Kemper, Timothy D. McBride, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 01/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute
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Access to Care: Populations in Counties with No FQHC, RHC, or Acute Care Hospital
Findings brief focusing on the 3 main facility types providing primary care in rural areas and examining how many people will likely have limited access to primary care based on their locations. Includes statistics on numbers of people living in counties without these facilities, with breakdowns by 9 census divisions.
Author(s): Meagan Clawar, Randy Randolph, Kristie Thompson, George H. Pink
Date: 01/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Last Updated: 4/1/2024