Rural Health Research: Heidi O'Connor, MS

Older Medicare Beneficiaries' Use of Long Term Services and Supports, 2015-2021
Policy Brief
Maine Rural Health Research Center
Date: 07/2026
This study examines the living circumstances of rural and urban Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and older between 2015 and 2021.
Who Lives in Ambulance Deserts? Demographic and Geographic Differences in Accessing Ambulance Services
Chartbook
Maine Rural Health Research Center
Date: 07/2026
This study assesses who lives in ambulance deserts, defined as populated areas that are more than 25 minutes from an ambulance station.
Ambulance Deserts and Health Care Deserts Story Maps
Maine Rural Health Research Center
Date: 04/2026
These story maps created within ArcGIS illustrate the intersection of ambulance deserts and health care deserts across 41 states.

Opioid Use Among Rural Medicare Beneficiaries
Policy Brief
Maine Rural Health Research Center
Date: 01/2025
This study used the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) to address the lack of literature on the rural-urban difference in the use and misuse of prescription opioids. Over years 2010-2017, rural community and facility-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries were more likely to receive opioid prescriptions than their urban counterparts.

Pediatric and Pregnancy-related Visits at Rural Health Clinics in 2018 Among Medicaid/CHIP Enrollees in 20 States
Policy Brief
Maine Rural Health Research Center
Date: 09/2024
This policy brief reports on the percentage of Medicaid-enrolled children and reproductive age women with pregnancy-related service use who visited a Rural Health Clinic in 2018 in 20 states.
Identifying Rural Health Clinics Within the Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS) Analytic Files
Policy Brief
Maine Rural Health Research Center
Date: 03/2024
This brief describes a methodology for identifying Rural Health Clinic encounters within the Medicaid claims data using Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS) Analytic Files.

Patterns of Health Care Use Among Rural-Urban Medicare Beneficiaries Age 85 and Older, 2010-2017
Policy Brief
Maine Rural Health Research Center
Date: 11/2022
This study examines rural-urban differences in health care use among Medicare beneficiaries age 85+.

Rural-Urban Differences in Satisfaction With Medicare Part D: Implications for Policy
Journal Article
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Date: 01/2016
Examines the difference in rural and urban satisfaction with Medicare Part D coverage by using data from the 2012 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey. The research found that rural residents have lower satisfaction with their coverage.

Differences in Part D Plans Offered to Rural and Urban Medicare Beneficiaries
Policy Brief
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Date: 07/2015
This brief analyzes how the plan options available to rural and urban beneficiaries differ in terms of premiums, deductibles, and copayments, as well as differences in plan options within rural areas.
Rural and Urban Differences in Choice of and Satisfaction With Medicare Part D Plans
Policy Brief
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Date: 07/2015
This brief examines whether rural Medicare beneficiaries are satisfied with their Medicare Part D drug plans and whether there is a difference in beneficiary satisfaction and plan selection experience by rurality.

Does Rurality Affect Observation Care Services Use in CAHs for Medicare Beneficiaries?
Policy Brief
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Date: 10/2014
This brief describes the use of observation services across levels of rurality by Medicare beneficiaries in critical access hospitals, the demographics and health status of patients receiving these services, and the characteristics of their observation stays.

Comparing Rural and Urban Medicare Part D Enrollment Patterns and Prescription Drug Coverage Rates
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Date: 05/2013
This study examines Medicare Part D enrollment rates in rural and urban areas and the resulting impact on rural beneficiaries' overall prescription drug coverage rates.

Heidi O'Connor, MS