Hint: It’s not the money. A joint study conducted in the fall of 2023 by MGMA and Jackson Physician Search sought physicians’ and medical group administrators’ views on the top factors influencing residents and fellows to accept and stay in their first jobs. Not surprisingly, the study confirms that compensation is the number one factor driving first-job decisions. However, when physicians were asked what made them leave their first jobs, the most cited reason was the “practice ownership/ governance model.” The report concludes that new physicians may be following the money without fully understanding how their new organization will be managed – and how that may impact their job satisfaction. Read the report: The Surprising Reason Early-Career Physicians Leave Their First Jobs – And What Employers Can Do About It.

United Health Foundation release of America’s Health Rankings 2023 Annual Report, shows eight chronic conditions have reached the highest prevalence in the report’s history. These include arthritis, asthma, cancer, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), chronic kidney disease (CKD), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), depression, and diabetes.

The report, produced in partnership with the American Public Health Association, provides the longest running state-by-state analysis of the nation’s health, providing a comprehensive look at the health of Americans across 87 measures of health from 28 data sources. The report found that between 2021 and 2022, for example, depression rates grew to 21.7%, impacting close to 54.2 million people. Similarly, prevalence of diabetes rose to 11.5%, or 31.9 million adults. The report also examines disparities, finding, for example, that emergency room visits caused by asthma were 2.5 higher among Black adults compared to white adults, that diabetic Black and Hispanic adults were also less likely than white adults to have their A1c levels under control, and that depression rates were 2.4 times higher among LGBTQ+ people compared to straight people.

A new report from Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children shows that the commonwealth is one of three states where the number of uninsured children increased in 2022 – with 145,000 uninsured children in the state, including nearly 6,000 in Allegheny County. Read more.

The Rural Health Value team is pleased to share a policy paper entitled Advancing Value-Based Payment Policies Relevant to Rural Areas – Continued Challenges and New Opportunities.

Building on RHV’s “How to Design Value-Based Care Models for Rural Participant Success: A Summit Findings Report,” this paper suggests potential Innovation Center and CMS policy opportunities to ensure that all fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries will be in a care relationship with accountability for quality and total cost of care by 2030, and to ensure the inclusion of rural health care providers in CMS models, programs, and quality improvement initiatives.

Related resources on the Rural Health Value website:

• Catalog of Value-Based Initiatives for Rural Providers – Find federal Health and Human Services (HHS) value-based programs that might be appropriate for rural participation. (2023)
• How to Design Value-Based Care Models for Rural Participant Success: A Summit Findings Report – Based on the input from a two-day virtual summit of rural participants in value-based care models and programs, this report summarizes themes and actionable recommendations that can be used by those designing and supporting value-based care models to improve the viability, relevance, and likelihood of rural health care organization participation and success. (2020)

The recently updated data resource provides information and an interactive map that shows the percentage of rural residents who have access to commercial air, intercity bus, or intercity rail transportation. Includes county-level data for the years 2006, 2012, 2018, and 2021. Depicts state-level transportation access data as well as demographic characteristics of rural areas.

Click here to read the full report.

This series of short videos highlights the work of grantees for the FORHP-supported Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP).  Newly updated directories of FY2023 grantees are now available for four separate RCORP programs:

• Overdose Response – https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/resources/21956
• Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome – https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/resources/21957
• Medication Assisted Treatment Access – https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/resources/21958
• Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health – https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/resources/21959

Click here to read the full article.

In an effort to measure disparities in access to care, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released three new briefs with data describing certain demographics and benefit use of enrollees in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).  Adding to previous data briefs on race and ethnicity, disability, and primary language, new data is provided showing beneficiary information for:

• Mental Health or Substance Use Disorder Services
• Section 1915(c) Waiver Participation (access to long-term home and community-based services)
• Well-Child Visits

Each includes information for rural populations.  For example, in 2020, about 5.7 million Medicaid- and CHIP-enrolled children under age 19 resided in a rural area, and 45 percent received a well-child visit compared to 51 percent of those living in urban areas.

Click here to read the full article.