Analyzes mortality disparities among justice-involved individuals in South Dakota. Examines the mortality rates of 182,472 unique arrestees from 2000-2016 according to race, sentence category, cause of death, and location, broken down by urban, rural non-Indian country, and rural Indian country.

Analyzes urban versus rural place of residence and its association with childhood food insecurity and weight status. Utilizes 2013-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data and provides breakdowns of urban versus rural food insecurity by child's age and weight status, according to underweight/normal weight, overweight, and obese designations.

Analyzes the ability of the the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to cover the price of a meal. Includes background information on the program as well as an interactive map that shows the cost of a moderately priced meal by county and the proportion of the cost covered by SNAP, county designation according to the rural-urban continuum code (RUCC), and SNAP benefit per meal versus total cost of meal according to select time periods between 2022-2023. -- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Urban Institute

Podcast episode describing how Kittitas Valley Healthcare in rural Washington State worked to continue to provide obstetric services at its Critical Access Hospital (CAH) amid the departure of its full-time obstetric providers. Discusses the involvement of the governing board and recruitment and retention efforts. -- American Hospital Association

Presents policy recommendations and suggestions to guide policymakers when considering the future of telehealth. Analyzes peer-reviewed research; government reports; and findings from interviews with payers, providers, provider associations, federal agencies, consumer advocates, technology leaders, policy experts, and other stakeholders. Includes rural references and considerations throughout. -- Bipartisan Policy Center

Report discusses how policy changes to state employee insurance plans affected healthcare costs in Oregon. Details Oregon's plan to place payment caps tied to Medicare reimbursement rates and exceptions for rural and Critical Access Hospitals. -- Milbank Memorial Fund

Fact sheet providing an overview of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed rule regarding updates and changes to the Medicare payments for hospital outpatient and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) services for calendar year 2025. Summarizes provisions regarding changes to Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) and partial hospital program rate setting; a proposal to include an add-on payment to the Medicare outpatient hospital all-inclusive rate (AIR) for certain high-cost drugs for people with Medicare who receive care at Indian Health Service (IHS) or tribal hospitals; updates to the Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting (OQR), Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality Reporting (ASCQR), and Rural Emergency Hospital Quality Reporting (REHQR) Programs; a proposal for new Conditions of Participation (CoPs) for hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) for obstetrical services; Medicaid and CHIP continuous eligibility; Medicaid clinic services "four walls" exceptions; and more. -- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Describes a December 15, 2023, Technical Expert Panel (TEP) regarding the development of additional cross-setting measures for the Post-Acute Care (PAC) and Hospice Quality Reporting Programs (QRPs), and filling measurement gaps with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Universal Foundation measures. Summarizes TEP comments on adding measures to PAC and Hospice QRPs in four domains: 1) behavioral and mental health, 2) patient experience of care, 3) pain management, and 4) immunization. Covers panelists' discussions on the appropriateness of the existing measure set and potential new measures, setting-specific considerations, data sources, and other topics related to each domain. Includes rural references throughout. -- Abt Associates, Acumen, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Proceedings of a workshop focused on assessing progress in cancer care quality and equity in the past decade, from 2013-2023. Includes discussion on changes, strategies, and advances in cancer care, as well as how to improve cancer care for various populations, such as rural. -- Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Fact sheet providing an overview of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed rule regarding updates and changes to the Medicare payments under the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and other Medicare Part B issues for calendar year 2025. Summarizes provisions related to telehealth services; advanced primary care management services; behavioral health services; opioid treatment programs; dental and oral health services; Rural Health Clinic (RHC) and Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Conditions for Coverage, care coordination services, telecommunication services, payment for vaccine costs, intensive outpatient program (IOP) services; and more. -- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services