Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)

Current Projects

• Payer Mix of Rural Health Clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers
  This project will assess the payer mix of the more than 5,000 Rural Health Clinics and 1,400 Federally Qualified Health Center grantees throughout the country. The analysis will include assessing trends over time and across types and ownership for RHCs and across regions for FQHCs.
  Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
  Topics: Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Medicaid and CHIP, Medicare, Private health insurance, Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), Uninsured and underinsured
  
• Rural Health Clinic Ownership, Structure, and Operational Factors: A Mixed Methods Study
  Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) provide essential services to rural populations that often lack access to health care. This mixed methods study will describe RHC ownership types and changes, staffing, and utilization across the U.S., supplemented by qualitative interviews describing experiences among RHCs with different ownership types and structures.
  Research center: ETSU/NORC Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Healthcare financing, Hospitals and clinics, Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)
  
• Usual Source of Primary Care for Rural Medicare Beneficiaries Before and During COVID-19
  The global pandemic was highly disruptive to existing health care use patterns, potentially affecting rural America more than urban communities. This study will describe the usual sources of primary care (USC) for rural Medicare beneficiaries before and during COVID-19 to provide insight into how COVID-19 affected USC of Medicare beneficiaries.
  Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics, Medicare, Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)
  
• Utilization of Medicare Care Management Codes
  This study assesses the adoption of Medicare care management billing codes among rural and urban providers and the extent to which rural Medicare beneficiaries access these services. Using 2024 Medicare fee-for-service claims and provider data, this study will analyze trends in provider participation and utilization by service type, region, and rurality.
  Research center: ETSU/NORC Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Care management, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Health services, Medicare, Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), Social determinants of health