CDC Details Downward Mortality Trend for Older Adults (Before COVID-19)

The report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that, pre-pandemic, death rates were decreasing for both urban and rural U.S. adults aged 65 and older.  Data from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics show that, though death rates from 2009 to 2019 were higher in rural areas than urban areas for both men and women and for all race and Hispanic-origin groups, they declined 15 percent in rural areas over that time period.  CDC research from 2019 showed rural Americans are more likely to die from five leading causes than people living in urban areas. The research showed that rural residents are also more likely to die of preventable deaths – with higher rates of cigarette smoking, high blood pressure and obesity, higher rates of poverty, and less access to health care and health insurance.

Read the full article here.

Assessing Value-Based Payment Policies for Rural Areas

In 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a goal to have all Original Medicare (fee-for-service) beneficiaries in care relationships with health care providers that are accountable for the beneficiaries’ total cost of care and quality by 2030. This policy paper from the Rural Health Value team discusses the challenges that are particular to rural areas as well as potential opportunities.

Read the full report here.

Study Examines Why Early-Career Physicians Leave First Jobs

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.

Pennsylvania State Health Assessment Now Available

The 2023 Pennsylvania State Health Assessment update is now published and available on the Department of Health webpage. The State of Our Health: A Statewide Health Assessment of Pennsylvania identifies the populations most impaced by various health risks and outcomes and the possible causes for those disparate impacts. The assessment was developed through collection and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data with engagement of 82 organizations, including PACHC, who participate in the Healthy Pennsylvania Partnership.

Annual America’s Health Rankings Report Reveals Concerning Trends

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.

Updated Pennsylvania State Health Assessment Report Published

The Pennsylvania Department of Health Office of Operational Excellence recently published the updated 2023 Pennsylvania State Health Assessment (SHA). The report, “The State of Our Health: A Statewide Health Assessment of Pennsylvania,” was first published in August 2023. The report highlights the need for more dentists in Pennsylvania, especially for those enrolled in Medicaid. It also touches on the importance of oral health and dental caries as one of the most chronic diseases in the country. Thanks to the Pennsylvania Department of Health for including PA Coalition for Oral Health as a stakeholder for this important report.

Click here to read the updated report.

New Brief Published! Advancing Value-Based Payment Policies Relevant to Rural Areas

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:

Department of Transportation Maps Intercity Transportation in Rural Areas

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.