NRHA's Rural Health Voices blog offers informed commentary on the latest news in rural health care from NRHA staff and editorials from selected contributors.

Heavyweight Budget Fight: Entitlements Vs. The Deficit

From Kaiser Health News: By Christopher Weaver KHN Staff Writer It's a perennial contest. In one corner: health care entitlement programs, one of the biggest slices of the federal budget pie; in the other, the drive to tame the deficit, weighing in this week as the political talking point du jour. The latest venue is President Obama's 2012 budget, to be released Monday. According to many White House watchers, Obama is likely to pull his punches when it comes to entitlements such as...

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ONC director: "rural HIT is a priority for HHS"

In a blog posted by David Blumenthal, M.D., on Tuesday, he stated that rural HIT is a priority for HHS. Blumenthal cited his visit to NRHA's rural policy institute as a key source of learning about our unique challenges: capital financing, workforce and broadband connectivity. NRHA will continue its vigilance in ensuring against a rural-urban digital divide, however, we welcome ONC's commitment to this issue.

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Lifestyle affects life expectancy more than genetics

For many that have assumed that their "good genes" would get them to a ripe old age, or for those that have given up on good lifestyle choices because "it's all in the genes," an answer has come in from a study published in the Journal of Internal Medicine recently. The study notes that  those who did not smoke, consumed moderate amounts of coffee and had a good socio-economic status at the age of 50 (measured in terms of housing costs), as well as good physical working capacity at the age of...

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NRHA CEO Alan Morgan Follows-Up with Dr. Berwick

[caption id="attachment_723" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Dr. Berwick, 2011 NRHA President Kris Sparks, 2012 President Lance Kielers"][/caption] NRHA CEO Alan Morgan met today with CMS Administrator Berwick's staff as a follow-up to last week's Policy Institute conference in Washington, D.C.  After a personal meeting at the conference with Dr. Berwick, NRHA President Kris Sparks, 2012 President Lance Kielers, and other NRHA staff,...

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Berwick: You have my attention, heart, commitment

The meaningful use era

David Blumenthal, MD, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (HIT), told nearly 400 NRHA Rural Health Policy Institute attendees “we’ve entered a new era in the U.S. health care system, the era of meaningful use.” “It’s more than a federal program and a statute, it’s a new way we’ll do business in the health care system,” he said. “I hope to convince you this isn’t a transient change but an enduring one.” Since...

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Brand: Rural health, we’ve got your back

Negotiated Rulemaking

This week, I am once again participating in the HRSA Negotiated Rulemaking Committee that is reconsidering how the Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) and Medically Underserved Area (MUA) designations are constructed. The Negotiated Rulemaking committee was mandated by the 2010 Affordable Care Act. These methods (HPSA and MUA) are used to designate areas eligible for Federal resources such as National Health Service Corps Physicians, Community Health Centers, and a Medicare...

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One-Fifth of the U.S. Population Has No Doctor or Other Usual Source of Medical Care

Roughly 60 million people—1 in 5 Americans—have no usual source of medical care, such as a family doctor or clinic, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The report noted that some 29 percent of people with no health insurance cited high cost as their main reason for not having a usual source of care, compared to 16 percent of people with public insurance and 4 percent of those with private health insurance. NRHA's Expanding...

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EMR's Not Always Linked to Better Care in Hospitals

A Rand Corporation report released Dec. 25, 2010 indicates that the use of EMR's in a hospital does not guarantee better quality care. "One expected benefit of electronic health records is improved quality of care. But most of the current knowledge about the relationship between health information technology and quality comes from a few hospitals that may not be representative, such as large teaching hospitals or hospitals that were among the first to adopt electronic health records," says...

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