Report highlights a review of four programs funded through the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) aimed at expanding access to overdose prevention and treatment of opioid use disorder. Explores the impact of the programs on their communities and makes recommendations for policy makers. Discusses challenges and program adaptations for rural communities. -- Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Provides a snapshot of Rural Community Development (RCD) projects that provide clean and safe water and wastewater practices by state. Includes U.S. map that depicts the 6 regions collaborating with the RCD program. -- Administration for Children and Families

Presents Rural Community Development (RCD) grant recipient stories about how they developed clean and safe water and wastewater practices in their rural and/or tribal communities. Includes video testimonials from RCD project sites across the United States that discuss the impact of water/wastewater programs in their locality. -- Administration for Children and Families

Examines how income inequality and life expectancy (LE) are impacted by socioeconomic status (SES) and rural versus urban status at the census-tract level. Utilizes 2010-2015 data to examine the relationship of LE to SES, urbanicity, and other sociodemographic factors. Presents the data through descriptive statistics, figures, and graphs.

Presents data on consumers who selected or were automatically reenrolled in a Marketplace medical plan during the 2023 open enrollment period. Includes state-by-state breakdowns of rural versus urban enrollees by ZIP code location, a U.S. map showing total enrollees by state, and open enrollment trends from 2017 to 2023. -- Kaiser Family Foundation

Report from the Physician-Focused Payment Model Technical Advisory Committee (PTAC) summarizing findings on population-based total cost of care (PB-TCOC) payment models and the role these models can play in optimizing health care delivery and value-based transformation in the context of alternative payment models (APMs) and physician-focused payment models (PFPMs). Provides an overview of key issues relating to PB-TCOC models and value-based care transformation. Identifies areas where additional research is needed and some potential next steps. Includes rural references throughout. -- HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation

Results of an audit of Medicare Part B claims to determine whether Part B payments to Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) for professional services and payments made to healthcare practitioners for the same services complied with federal requirements. Includes recommendations from the Office of Inspector General (OIG), and the response from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). -- Office of Inspector General (HHS)

Provides an overview of the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) eligibility criteria. Addresses calculation of the low-volume threshold exclusion at the individual and group levels, opt-in and voluntary reporting options, and the impact of special status designations such as rural and small practices. -- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Policy brief exploring how work support programs – Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid, and Child Care and Development Funds (CCDF) – and other state and federal programs can address social determinants of health, improve health, and stimulate economic activity in rural America. Offers policy recommendations to increase access to these programs in rural areas. -- National Rural Health Association

Examines the virtual hybrid hospital-at-home (HaH) model, Advanced Care at Home (ACH), at urban clinic hospitals in Florida and Arizona and a rural clinic hospital in Wisconsin. Describes demographic characteristics of ACH patients, their acuity of illness, and risk of mortality (ROM) by clinic location.