Category: Rural Health Research Gateway

Rural Health Research – Understanding the Impact of Medical Debt in Rural Communities: Perspectives from Rural Hospital Administrators

November 18, 2024

Rural Health Research – Understanding the Impact of Medical Debt in Rural Communities: Perspectives from Rural Hospital Administrators

This policy brief presents findings from key informant interviews with nine administrators representing rural hospitals in seven states (Arkansas, California, Illinois, Texas, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia).

Using content analysis of interview data, researchers share findings around hospital and community-level implications of medical debt, and policies that may help or hinder this issue.

Click Here to Read Policy Brief

Rural Health Research: Medical Debt in Collections Among Counties by Rural-Urban Location and Racial-ethnic Composition

November 8, 2024

Rural Health Research: Medical Debt in Collections Among Counties by Rural-Urban Location and Racial-ethnic Composition

Medical debt, or medical costs owed for health care services, is a pressing issue across the U.S., with implications for health and well-being for those facing debt burden. While recognition of medical debt as a social problem is growing, details about who is most at risk of holding this debt remain less clear.

This policy brief addresses this gap by examining the differences in the proportion of people with medical debt in collections and median amount of medical debt by rural-urban communities of color.

Key Findings:

  • Rural counties have a higher proportion of people with medical debt in collections than urban counties (15.7% vs 14.8%), and this difference is associated with lower average household incomes in rural counties in general.
  • The county-level median amount of medical debt in collections held by rural residents is $62 higher compared to their urban counterparts, even after accounting for income differences.
  • The proportion of people with and amount of medical debt in collections are both higher in rural and urban communities of color than in rural and urban communities overall.

Click Here to Read Brief

Upcoming Webinar: Access to Maternity Care in Rural U.S. Communities, November 14

October 31, 2024

Upcoming Webinar: Access to Maternity Care in Rural U.S. Communities, November 14

In this hour-long webinar, experts will describe disparities in mental health outcomes for rural populations, the growing scarcity of obstetric care, and the far-reaching consequences of obstetric unit closures.

Additionally, the presentation will delve into the reasons behind these closures and examine policy solutions aimed at improving access to maternal health care and advancing health equity.

Registration is free and required. Attendance of the live webinar is limited to 500 persons. If you are unable to attend, you will be able to access the recording archived on the Gateway website.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, November 14, 2024

Click Here to Register

Research Alert: The First Year of Rural Emergency Hospitals: REHs Serve Relatively Disadvantaged Counties

October 17, 2024

Research Alert: The First Year of Rural Emergency Hospitals: REHs Serve Relatively Disadvantaged Counties

Among findings in this brief from the North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center:

  • Various hospital types converted to REHs in 2023:
    • Seven were Sole Community Hospitals
    • Six were Critical Access Hospitals
    • Four were Prospective Payment System hospitals, and
    • Two were Medicare Dependent hospitals.
  • Counties with REH conversions were relatively challenged, showing highest median rates of poverty, uninsured individuals, and people in poor or fair health.
  • Counties with a REH conversion also faced health care access challenges, with fewer primary care and mental health providers and higher emergency department visit rates among Medicare beneficiaries.

Click Here to Read Full Alert

Rural Health Research: Changes in Rural Pharmacy Presence 2023

August 19, 2024

Rural Health Research: Changes in Rural Pharmacy Presence 2023

This data brief provides information on rural communities that have kept, lost, or gained a retail pharmacy between 2018 to  2023.

  • Between 2018 and 2023, the number of retail pharmacies in the U.S. declined by 3.9 percent.
    • During that same period, the number of retail pharmacies located in rural communities declined by 5.9 percent and,
    • The number of retail pharmacies located in urban communities declined by 3.4 percent
  • There was little variation in the characteristics of the population in places that kept, lost, or gained pharmacy service.
    • Where there was any variation, the results were often counterintuitive
    • Places that gained pharmacy service had a lower proportion of population that was non-White but a higher proportion that was Hispanic, and a higher proportion with no health insurance

Click Here to Read Brief

Rural Health Research Gateway – The Low-Volume Hospital Adjustment Before and During COVID-19

August 9, 2024

Rural Health Research Gateway – The Low-Volume Hospital Adjustment Before and During COVID-19

This brief from the North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center provides an update to a 2016 analysis of the profitability of low-volume rural Prospective Payment System hospitals under the Affordable Care Act’s qualifying criteria.

The Low-Volume Hospital (LVH) adjustment is for hospitals with fewer than 3,800 patient discharges in the previous year that are more than 15 miles from the nearest Inpatient Prospective Payment System acute care hospital.

Qualifying hospitals receive a payment adjustment up to an additional 25% for every Medicare patient discharge.

Click Here to Read the Brief

Rural Health Research on Rural Hospital Profitability from 2018 to 2023

June 27, 2024

Rural Health Research on Rural Hospital Profitability from 2018 to 2023

Profitability of rural hospitals in 2020-21 and 2021-22 was influenced by the Public Health Emergency (PHE) funding distributed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Three briefs from the North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis center examine hospital profitability from 2018 to 2023, taking PHE funding into account.

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Rural Health Research: Understanding the Rise of Ransomware Attacks on Rural Hospitals

June 24, 2024

Rural Health Research: Understanding the Rise of Ransomware Attacks on Rural Hospitals

Among the key findings in this brief from the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center:

  • Rural hospitals experienced an increasing number of ransomware attacks from 2016 to 2021.
  • From 2016 to 2021, 43 rural hospitals across 22 states experienced a ransomware attack.
  • Ransomware attacks afflicted all types of rural hospitals, including:
  • Critical Access Hospitals (N=9)
  • Sole Community Hospitals (N=13)
  • Rural Referral Centers (N=3)
  • Hospitals paid under Medicare’s Inpatient Prospective Payment System (N=18).

Eighty-four percent of ransomware attacks on rural hospitals resulted in operational disruptions. Common disruptions included electronic system downtime (81%), delays or cancellations in scheduled care (42%), and ambulance diversion (33%). Operational disruptions were similar in rural and urban hospital settings.

Click Here to Read Research Alert

Webinar: Why Housing is a Rural Social Driver of Health – May 29

May 24, 2024

Webinar: Why Housing is a Rural Social Driver of Health – May 29

Rural Health Research Gateway is hosting a webinar at noon CDT May 29 on understanding housing as a social driver of health for rural residents, including research on rural/urban differences in housing cost burden and quality.

Presenters will share recent research findings on rural/urban differences in housing cost burden and quality of housing stock.

The webinar will also include results from a series of key informant interviews on challenges and opportunities to support housing and improve health for rural residents.

After attending, participants will:

  • Be able to describe differences between rural and urban residents in basic housing access and quality measures
  • Be able to identify opportunities to improve housing as a social driver of health through policy and programming

Cost: Free

When: Wednesday, May 29, 12:00 p.m. CT

Register Here

Webinar: Understanding Housing as a Social Driver of Health for Rural Residents – Wednesday, May 29, 1:00 p.m. ET

May 20, 2024

Webinar: Understanding Housing as a Social Driver of Health for Rural Residents – Wednesday, May 29, 1:00 p.m. ET

During this one-hour webinar, presenters will share recent research findings on rural/urban differences in housing cost burden and quality of housing stock.

This webinar will also include results from a series of key informant interviews on challenges and opportunities to support housing and improve health for rural residents.

After attending, participants will be able to describe differences between rural and urban residents in basic housing access and quality measures.

Attendees will also be able to identify opportunities to improve housing as a social driver of health through policy and programming.

Registration is free and required. Attendance of the live webinar is limited to 500  persons. If you are unable to attend, you will be able to access the recording.

Cost:  Free

When: Wednesday, May 29, 1:00 p.m. ET

Register Here