Federal News
New WI-ORH Website Migration
Exciting news for the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health. We will be migrating to a new website so you will not see any items posted to the Rural Reporter for the next couple of days -- come back to see us on Friday! A new day & a brand new look for us.
Insurer's App Aims to Lower Healthcare Costs, Securely
Aetna will allow patients and providers to communicate directly via a mobile application that protects data privacy and indicates when care options are high cost, out of network, or present challenging payment arrangements. (Source: Health Leaders Media) [Read article]
Child Care Subsidies Critical for Low-Income Families Amid Rising Child Care Expenses
The high cost of child care is a barrier to employment among low-income families with young children. Child care subsidies are designed to support both parental employment and child development by lowering the cost of child care and making high-quality child care affordable to low-income families. Child care is particularly salient for rural families with young children because single and married rural mothers with children under age 6 are more likely to be employed than their urban counterparts and because rural families generally have fewer available child care options.
ED Physicians Key to Half of Hospital Admissions
According to this article, RAND found that hospital admissions from the ED increased 17% over seven years, accounting for nearly all the growth in hospital admissions between 2003 and 2009, offset by a 10% drop in admissions from primary care physicians and clinical referrals. Nearly all of the increase was from "non-elective" admissions from the ED—a rate 3.8 times the rate of population growth.
Medical School Enrollment Outpacing Available Residency Slots
Results of the 2012 Medical School Enrollment Survey released by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) show that enrollment at U.S. medical schools and schools of osteopathic medicine continue to increase at a steady pace.
Care Management for Medicaid Enrollees Through Community Health Teams
To provide more effective and efficient care for beneficiaries with complex health needs, Medicaid programs in some states have turned to local community health teams to augment the capacity of physician practices. A new report examines multidisciplinary community health team programs in eight states. (Source: Commonwealth Fund) [Read article]
Telerehabilitation Allows Accurate Assessment of Patients With Low Back Pain
A new "telerehabilitation" approach lets physical therapists assess patients with low back pain over the Internet, with good accuracy compared with face-to-face examinations, reports a new study. (Source: ScienceDaily) [Read article]
Breakup of Physician, Drug Company Relationship Could Improve Health Care, Cut Cost
According to this article, a new report suggests that improved health care and significant reductions in drug costs might be attained by breaking up the age-old relationship between physicians and drug company representatives who promote the newest, more costly and often unnecessary prescription drugs. (Source: ScienceDaily) [Read article]
Latest Health Hurdle: Buying Insurance Without A Bank Account
One in five households in the U.S. have only a tenuous relationship with a traditional bank. The federal health law requires most Americans to carry health insurance starting next January. This presents a particular problem for those households. Most health plans accept a credit card for the first month's premium payment and then require customers to pay monthly with a check or an electronic funds transfer from a checking account.
U.S. Broadband Availability: June 2010 – June 2012
This report on the availability of broadband, authored by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), is the first in a series of Broadband Briefs that uses publicly available data collected by the Department of Commerce to examine broadband availability in greater detail. This report examines improvements in broadband availability by speed, technology and location since 2010. Almost 100 percent of urban residents have access to download speeds of at least 6 Mbps, while 82 percent of rural communities can access these speeds.
