Access to Care for Rural Medicare Beneficiaries

This paper examines variations between urban and rural Medicare beneficiaries in three measures of access to care: self-reported access to care, satisfaction with care received and use of services. The assessment focuses on these measures and their relationship to adjacency to metropolitan areas. Comparisons are also provided for the relative effects of adjacency versus broader access barriers such as income. Data from the 1993 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey are used. The analyses offer several new perspectives on access in rural areas. First, as perceived by respondents, rural residence does not indicate access problems; instead, Medicare beneficiaries in rural counties that are adjacent to urban areas and that have their own city of at least 10,000 people report higher levels of satisfaction and fewer self-reported access problems than do residents of urban counties. These results may stem either from differences in rural residents' expectations regarding access or willingness to accept appropriate substitutions. Preventive vaccination rates in rural areas are on par with or better than rates by beneficiaries in urban areas. The only services where utilization in rural areas was limited relative to urban areas were preventive cancer screening for women and dental care. Development of policies to address these specific service gaps may be warranted. Low income has a more pervasive and problematic relationship to self-reported access, satisfaction and utilization than does rural residence per se.     

Preventive services for rural and urban African American adults

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that African Americans and rural patients receive fewer preventive services than other patients. OBJECTIVE: To compare the use of preventive services by African Americans in urban and rural settings to determine if race and rural residence were additive risks for not obtaining preventive services. METHODS: Three hundred African American patients seeking care in family practices in South Carolina were surveyed about preventive health care. RESULTS: Rural and urban African Americans were equally likely to know about preventive services and be up-to-date on receiving these services. In both practices, those with lower incomes were less likely to be up-to-date. Patients seen in the urban setting were more likely to receive counseling regarding exercise and smoking than those in the rural practice (87% vs 71%, P = .003). CONCLUSIONS: For both urban and rural African American patients with access to primary care physicians, preventive service use is high. The best predictor of poor compliance with preventive service recommendations was low income, suggesting that a lack of access to care is the primary reason why rural and African American populations do not receive adequate preventive health care.     

Are rural residents less likely to obtain recommended preventive healthcare services?

BACKGROUND: This study examined rural-urban differences in utilization of preventive healthcare services and assessed the impact of rural residence, demographic factors, health insurance status, and health system characteristics on the likelihood of obtaining each service. METHODS: National data from the 1997 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and the 1999 Area Resource File were used to evaluate the adequacy of preventive services obtained by rural and urban women and men, using three sets of nationally accepted preventive services guidelines from the American Cancer Society, U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, and Healthy People 2010. Logistic regression models were developed to control for the effect of demographic factors, health insurance status, and health system characteristics. RESULTS: Rural residents are less likely than urban residents to obtain certain preventive health services and are further behind urban residents in meeting Healthy People 2010 objectives. CONCLUSIONS: Efforts to increase rural preventive services utilization need to build on federal, state, and community-based initiatives and to recognize the special challenges that rural areas present.     

Access to and use of health services by rural elderly, Brazil, 1998 and 2003

We analyzed access to health services and the utilization of such services by elderly rural residents in Brazil in 2003, comparing the patterns to those of the urban elderly and the equivalent rural pattern in 1998, using data from the National Household Sample Survey. Access barriers were greater in rural as compared to urban areas. Health services utilization was less than in the urban elderly, even for rural elders who reported health problems. There was no difference in hospitalization rates among rural and urban elderly. Analysis of the health services that were used showed that there was limited access to services with intermediate complexity. The results suggest that access barriers increase even further with advancing age. Gender differences in utilization, generally favoring women, are more marked in the rural elderly. Financial barriers are also more evident. The health services supply should be expanded and adapted to the territorial, cultural, and social characteristics of the rural elderly.     

Insights from a large rural population laboratory. Health census '89 and '99

PURPOSE: Data are limited on health status behaviors and use of health services for rural residents. Yet rural areas now have higher rates of chronic diseases, such as coronary heart disease, than urban areas.METHODS: A population laboratory (Health Census) was established in rural Central NY (Otsego County) to study these variables in this population. HC '89 was a door-to-door enumeration of all permanent households in the country. In 1989, 44,500 adults in 18,000 households provided data on individual health screenings, cancer and cardiovascular risk factors, health behaviors, chronic disease, access to care, preventive services use, health insurance and emergency department utilization. Data collection for HC '99 will identify 10-year trends; it also includes baseline data for children. Also, households in six surrounding rural counties (N = 10,000) were sampled; cost benefits of different survey methods were assessed. Questions about perceived health status, and special health and pediatric preventive care needs were included. After 10 years of social change, many limitations of traditional survey methods became apparent; much more varied and frequent types of follow-up were needed to achieve adequate response rates.RESULTS: The HC '89 final response rate was 86%. There were significant socioeconomic gradients in use of preventive services (blood pressure screening, rectal exams, mammograms and Pap smears). Adults without health insurance or Medicaid had much lower utilization rates of screening tests and higher rates of cigarette smoking and obesity. Several community intervention programs were implemented as a result of HC '89. HC '99 provides additional analyses to examine change in preventive service use, self-reported chronic disease, and health services use; it will likely verify the persistence of socioeconomic gradients. Response rates are similar to '89, but achieved only with more intensive reinforcement.CONCLUSIONS: HC '89 confirmed a lag in positive health indices in rural populations in Central NY. Both newer methodologies now needed and results of HC '99 will serve as guides for smaller rural counties to develop affordable local health surveys and plan intervention strategies.     

Adequate Access to Posthospital Home Health Services: Differences Between Urban and Rural Areas

The health care environment in rural areas changed dramatically in the 1980s. Policy-makers are concerned that these changes have reduced access to care among residents of rural areas. This study measures adequate access to Medicare home health services and determines whether it differs for urban and rural beneficiaries. Adequate access to care is measured by whether a patient with a specific health condition received a level of skilled services predetermined as appropriate for that condition. The predetermined levels of care were developed in an earlier study and were found to correlate with adverse outcomes. This study focused on patients with diabetes mellitus and surgical hip procedures to concentrate on access to skilled nursing services and physical therapy services. To conduct the analysis, a data base was constructed that included both patient utilization and health status data, drawing on three different data sources: Medicare hospital claims data, Medicare home health bill record data, and home health plan of treatment data from patients' utilization review forms (forms 485 and 486). The analysis samples consisted of 404 patients with diabetes and 876 patients who had surgical hip procedures. Significant differences were found between urban and rural areas in access to home health services. The largest differences were found in access to physical therapy services, but differences in access to skilled nursing services also exist. The data suggest that the availability of skilled care services may cause these differences.     

Rural Psychiatry

The commonly occurring psychiatric disorders, anxiety and depression, have a combined community prevalence rate of 15–30% and are associated with significant clinical and economic cost. Although a number of effective pharmacological and psychological treatments are available for the management of these disorders, many people do not have access to, or do not receive, these treatments. An important factor associated with the lower rates of use of specialist services is rural, particularly remote, residence.This review discusses the problems of delivery of services to rural areas in countries with formal mental health services, and where the availability of psychiatrists and specialist mental health practitioners approximates that recommended by the World Health Organization. Relevant data were collected via a literature search using Medline and PsychLit and supplemented by material from key textbooks and by articles recommended by local experts in the field.A variety of special issues in rural areas, which make mental health service provision problematic, were identified. These relate to the characteristics of the rural location and community, demands upon and availability of mental health clinicians, and the changing role and focus of mental health services.These features, together with limited access to services by patients, necessitate models of service delivery different from those provided in urban areas. Important features include a shift from the ‘specialist as direct provider of care’ role to one of consultation, education, and indirect service provision and the use of a variety of outreach arrangements to enable patient access to essential specialist services.     

Health Insurance and Health Care among the Mid‐Aged and Older Chinese: Evidence from the National Baseline Survey of CHARLS

We document the recent profile of health insurance and health care among mid‐aged and older Chinese using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study conducted in 2011. Overall health insurance coverage is about 93%. Multivariate regressions show that respondents with lower income as measured by per capita expenditure have a lower chance of being insured, as do the less‐educated, older, and divorced/widowed women and rural‐registered people. Premiums and reimbursement rates of health insurance vary significantly by schemes. Inpatient reimbursement rates for urban people increase with total cost to a plateau of 60%; rural people receive much less. Demographic characteristics such as age, education, marriage status, per capita expenditure, and self‐reported health status are not significantly associated with share of out‐of‐pocket cost after controlling community effects. For health service use, we find large gaps that vary across health insurance plans, especially for inpatient service. People with access to urban health insurance plans are more likely to use health services. In general, Chinese people have easy access to median low‐level medical facilities. It is also not difficult to access general hospitals or specialized hospitals, but there exists better access to healthcare facilities in urban areas. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Access of rural AFDC Medicaid beneficiaries to mental health services

This article examines geographic differences in the use of mental health services among Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)-eligible Medicaid beneficiaries in Maine. Findings indicate that rural AFDC beneficiaries have significantly lower utilization of mental health services than urban beneficiaries. Specialty mental health providers account for the majority of ambulatory visits for both rural and urban beneficiaries. However, rural beneficiaries rely more on primary-care providers than do urban beneficiaries. Differences in use are largely explained by variations in the supply of specialty mental health providers. This finding supports the long-held assumption that lower supply is a barrier to access to mental health services in rural areas.     

云南省贫困农村妇女对基本生育健康服务的利用

本文对云南省2个县3个乡的1766名已婚育龄妇女的基本生育健康服务利用状况进行了调查分析。结果表明,农村妇女对基本生育健康服务的利用普遍不足,贫困妇女对服务的利用更低。妇女对各项基本生育健康服务的利用也不平衡,表现为对孕产期保健服务、妇科病防治服务和计划生育术后追踪服务的利用不足,对计划生育手术服务的利用相对较多。     

Health, mental health, substance use, and service utilization among rural and urban incarcerated women.

Incarcerated women commonly report health, mental health, and substance use problems, yet there is limited research on service utilization before incarceration, particularly among women from urban and rural areas. This study includes a stratified random sample of 100 rural and urban incarcerated women to profile the health, mental health, substance use, and service utilization; examine the relationship between the number of self-reported problems and service utilization; and examine self-reported health and mental health problems in prison as associated with preincarceration health-related problems and community service utilization. Study findings suggest that health and mental health problems and substance use do not differ significantly among rural and urban women prisoners. However, there are differences in service utilization -- particularly behavioral health services including mental health and substance abuse services; urban women report more service utilization. In addition, rural women who reported using needed community services before prison also reported fewer health problems in prison. Implications for correctional and community treatment opportunities in rural and urban areas are discussed.     

The impact of different benefit packages of Medical Financial Assistance Scheme on health service utilization of poor population in Rural China

Background  

Since 2003 and 2005, National Pilot Medical Financial Assistance Scheme (MFA) has been implemented in rural and urban areas of China to improve the poorest families' accessibility to health services. Local governments of the pilot areas formulated various benefit packages. Comparative evaluation research on the effect of different benefit packages is urgently needed to provide evidence for improving policy-making of MFA. This study was based on a MFA pilot project, which was one component of Health VIII Project conducted in rural China. This article aimed to compare difference in health services utilization of poor families between two benefit package project areas: H8 towns (package covering inpatient service, some designated preventive and curative health services but without out-patient service reimbursement in Health VIII Project,) and H8SP towns (package extending coverage of target population, covering out- patient services and reducing co-payment rate in Health VIII Supportive Project), and to find out major influencing factors on their services utilization.     

The Role of Federally Funded Health Centers in Serving the Rural Population

CONTEXT: Federally funded health centers attempt to improve rural health by reducing and eliminating access barriers to primary care services. PURPOSE: This study compares rural health center patients with people in the general rural population for indicators of access to preventive services and health outcomes. METHODS: Data from the annual reporting system for federally funded health centers, the 1999 Uniform Data System, and published national census data were used to provide sociodemographic comparisons. Selected health status indicators, preventive services utilization, and health outcomes were obtained from a survey of health center patients, and the results were compared with the National Health Interview Survey and National Vital Statistics. FINDINGS: Unlike the nation's rural population, the majority of rural health center patients are of minority race/ethnicity, live at or below poverty, and are either uninsured or on Medicaid. Despite having higher prevalence of traditional access barriers than the general rural population, rural health center patients are significantly more likely to receive certain preventive services and also to experience lower rates of low birthweight, particularly for African American infants. However, rural health center patients are not more likely to have received influenza vaccination or up-to-date mammogram screening. CONCLUSIONS: Health centers provide access to essential preventive care for many of the most vulnerable rural residents. A national strategy to expand the rural health center network will likely help to ensure improved health for the considerable proportion of rural residents who still lack access to appropriate services.     

The Rural–Urban Divide: Health Services Utilization Among Older Mexicans in Mexico

Context: Mexico. Purpose: Using the health care service utilization model as a framework, this paper will analyze the differences in health care service use among older Mexicans living in urban and rural areas in Mexico. Methods: The Mexican Health and Aging Survey (MHAS) data were used to test the applicability of Andersen's “model of health services” of predisposing (ie, age, sex, etc.), enabling (education, insurance coverage, etc.) and need factors (diabetes, hypertension, etc.) to predict ever being in the hospital and physician visits in the past year by place of residence (urban, rural, semi-rural). Findings: Results showed that older Mexicans living in the most rural areas (populations of 2,500 or fewer) were significantly less likely to have been hospitalized in the previous year and visited the physician less often (P < .0001) than their urban counterparts. The significant difference in hospitalization between rural and urban residing older Mexicans was largely accounted for by having health care coverage. Certain need factors such as diabetes, previous heart attack, hypertension, depression, and functional limitations predicted frequency of physician visits and hospitalization, but they did not explain variations between rural and urban older Mexicans. Conclusions: Not having insurance coverage was associated with a lower likelihood of spending an overnight visit in the hospital and visiting a physician for older Mexicans. This lower utilization may be due to barriers to access rather than better health.     

Research on Rural Residence and Access to Drug Abuse Services: Where Are We and Where Do We Go?

ABSTRACT:  Context: Illicit drug use is common in rural areas, but very little research has investigated rural populations' access to drug abuse services. Purpose: To describe the current state of the scientific literature on access to drug abuse services in rural areas and suggest directions for future research. Methods: We performed a literature review of published articles on rural drug abuse services and summarized the findings according to potential, realized, accommodating, and acceptable access. Relevant articles on rural access to medical, alcohol, and mental health care were selected to supplement the scarce literature specific to drug abuse. Findings: A limited body of work indicates that rural populations have lower availability and utilize needed drug abuse services less frequently than their urban counterparts. Even less is known about the accommodation and acceptability of drug abuse programs serving rural populations. Conclusions: Research that investigates the existence and determinants of problems with access to drug abuse services is greatly needed to enable policy makers, drug treatment managers, and practitioners to better meet the needs of their rural clientele. As this field of inquiry advances, methodologies for constructing drug abuse service areas and measuring consumers' evaluations must be developed.     

Issues in the Development of HIV-Preventive Interventions for Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) in Rural Areas

Interventions aimed at reducing HIV-related sexual risk behaviors among men who have sex with men (MSM) have been highly successful in urban areas in reducing the incidence of new cases of HIV infection. In rural areas, where the rates of infection are increasing, issues of culture, population density, isolation, and lack of access to health care services present different challenges for the design and dissemination of preventive interventions. In this paper, we will discuss the issues related to the development of preventive interventions for rural MSM, and propose a model of intervention based on preliminary findings from a recent study of rural MSM.     

Health needs and health care utilization among rural, low-income women

This study examined the correlates of health service utilization in a sample of low-income, rural women. Self-reported data were from Rural Families Speak (N = 275), a multi-state study of low-income, rural families in the U.S. collected in 2002. Findings indicated that women with health insurance, a regular doctor, and poorer overall physical health had higher incident rates of physician visits. Women who were divorced, separated or widowed and had more chronic health problems had higher incidence rates of emergency department (ED) use, while women living in counties with higher primary care physician rates had lower incidence rates of ED use. Future research and policies should focus on improved access to health insurance, increasing physician availability in rural areas, and providing rural women with a usual source of care, so as to reduce emergency services utilization for non-emergent needs and improve health status for this population.     

Service Use of Rural and Urban Medicaid Beneficiaries Suffering From Depression: The Role of Supply

Despite the prevalence and consequence of depression in rural areas, the literature on treating depression in rural areas is relatively scarce and inconclusive. The use of mental health services by rural people suffering from depression and the role that supply may play in explaining these differences are not well understood. Understanding these issues for rural Medicaid beneficiaries is important as Medicaid managed carefor physical and behavioral health care is expanded to rural areas. This study compares the mental health service use of rural and urban Medicaid beneficiaries, ages 18 to 64, in Maine suffering from depression and examines what influence mental health and primary care supply have in explaining observed differences. Two models are used to estimate the use of ambulatory mental health services: (1) a logit likelihood estimate of whether a beneficiary uses any outpatient mental health services for depression; (2) an ordinary least squares regression estimating the number of annualized ambulatory mental health care visits among users. Rural beneficiaries suffering from depression have lower utilization than urban beneficiaries. Rural and urban Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)--and Supplemental Security Income (SSI)--beneficiaries suffering from depression rely more on mental health than on general health care providers to receive ambulatory mental health care. Rural beneficiaries (AFDC and SSI) rely relatively more on general health care providers than urban beneficiaries. Multivariate analysis suggests that mental health supply and patient-level factors, but not primary care supply, account for utilization differences. This article describes the need to better understand factors limiting participation of primary care providers and to study the role of supply across multiple states.     

Privatisation & marketisation of post-birth care: the hidden costs for new mothers

Introduction

Health care financing reforms in both China and Vietnam have resulted in greater financial difficulties in accessing health care, especially for the rural poor. Both countries have been developing rural health insurance for decades. This study aims to evaluate and compare equity in access to health care in rural health insurance system in the two countries.

Methods

Household survey and qualitative study were conducted in 6 counties in China and 4 districts in Vietnam. Health insurance policy and its impact on utilization of outpatient and inpatient service were analyzed and compared to measure equity in access to health care.

Results

In China, Health insurance membership had no significant impact on outpatient service utilization, while was associated with higher utilization of inpatient services, especially for the higher income group. Health insurance members in Vietnam had higher utilization rates of both outpatient and inpatient services than the non-members, with higher use among the lower than higher income groups. Qualitative results show that bureaucratic obstacles, low reimbursement rates, and poor service quality were the main barriers for members to use health insurance.

Conclusions

China has achieved high population coverage rate over a short time period, starting with a limited benefit package. However, poor people have less benefit from NCMS in terms of health service utilization. Compared to China, Vietnam health insurance system is doing better in equity in health service utilization within the health insurance members. However with low population coverage, a large proportion of population cannot enjoy the health insurance benefit. Mutual learning would help China and Vietnam address these challenges, and improve their policy design to promote equitable and sustainable health insurance.