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Rural Health Policy – Resources

Selected recent or important resources focusing on Rural Health Policy.

National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services Meeting Summary, Bend, Oregon, April 26-28, 2023
Summarizes the 92nd meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services (NACRHHS), which was held in Bend, Oregon. Presents an overview of national, tribal, and state perspectives on the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program.
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Rural Definitions Used for Eligibility Requirements in USDA Rural Development Programs
Provides an overview of the definitions of rural that are used to determine eligibility for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) programs. Identifies issues that Congress may want to consider related to these definitions and community eligibility.
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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The Rural Behavioral Health Crisis Continuum: Considerations and Emerging State Strategies
Presents examples of state strategies for bolstering the rural behavioral health crisis care continuum at each level of care.
Author(s): Miriam Pearsall, Sandra Wilkniss
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Academy for State Health Policy
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Oversight Hearing – Addressing the Challenges of Rural America
Recording of a March 29, 2023, House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies regarding challenges rural communities face. Discussions include access to healthcare; rural workforce development, including the healthcare workforce; telehealth; and more.
Additional links: Carrie Cochran-McClain, National Rural Health Association - Testimony, Tearsanee Davis, University of Mississippi Medical Center - Testimony, Tom Morris, Federal Office of Rural Health Policy - Testimony
Date: 03/2023
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
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Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly in Rural America: Policy Brief and Recommendations to the Secretary
Provides an overview of Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). Discusses barriers to implementing PACE programs in rural areas and offers policy recommendations and considerations to facilitate the expansion of these programs in rural communities.
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Who Lives in Rural America? How Data Shapes (and Misshapes) Conceptions of Diversity in Rural America (Part I)
Shares maps and other visualizations that illustrate rural diversity and shows how this diversity varies by region and over time. Part I discusses the importance of understanding the diversity of rural populations and identifies policy and resource allocation inequities that may result when the racial and ethnic diversity of rural communities is not apparent. Part II includes detailed sections with data focused on the rural Black, Hispanic and Latino, Native, Asian, and White populations.
Additional links: Who Lives in Rural America? The Geography of Rural Race and Ethnicity (Part II)
Date: 01/2023
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: Center on Rural Innovation
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The Health Equity & Access for Rural Dually Eligible Individuals (HEARD) Toolkit: Raising Rural Voices from New Mexico, North Dakota, and Tennessee to Create Action
Provides an overview on the access barriers and health disparities of Medicaid and Medicare dually eligible individuals residing in rural areas. Presents research and stakeholder feedback from New Mexico, North Dakota, and Tennessee to provide information to policymakers. Discusses topics such as community planning related to equity and infrastructure, workforce capacity and community health workers (CHWs), and social determinants of health.
Author(s): Ellen Breslin, Samantha Di Paola, Susan McGeehan, Rebecca Kellenberg, Andrea Maresca
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health Management Associates
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Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Strategic Plan FY 2024
Identifies four Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) goals and related objectives to address healthcare access and service delivery issues, including HRSA's work on rural health.
Date: 2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
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The Evolution of Hospital Designations and Payment in the U.S.: Implications for Rural Hospitals
Provides a history and overview of Medicare hospital payment polices as well as alternative payment models and their impact on rural facilities. Discusses the context in which rural hospitals serve patients, rural hospital payment provisions and designations, and current federal payment models that impact rural hospitals.
Author(s): Onyinye Oyeka, Clinton MacKinney, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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OIG's Top Unimplemented Recommendations: Solutions To Reduce Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in HHS Programs: December 2022
Annual report identifying the top 25 unimplemented recommendations from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) that, in OIG's view, would have the most substantial positive impact on Health and Human Services (HHS) programs. Positive impact may refer to cost savings, program efficacy and efficiency, and/or quality improvement. Primary areas of interest in the December 2022 edition include: ensuring that incidents of potential abuse or neglect of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries are identified and reported; addressing inappropriate nursing home discharges; reforming the hospital wage index system; increasing access to treatments for opioid use disorder; ensuring that Medicaid managed care enrollees have timely access to behavioral health services; and developing and implementing a staffing program for recruiting, retaining, and transitioning staff and leadership to remote Indian Health Service hospitals.
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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Additional resources are available related to this guide. See the full list of resources by topic for:


Last Updated: 4/8/2024