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Patterns Of Health Care Use Among Rural-Urban Medicare Beneficiaries Age 85 And Older, 2010-2017, Yvonne Jonk Phd, Heidi O'Connor Ms, Amanda Burgess Mppm, Carly Milkowski Mph

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The purpose of this study was to examine rural-urban differences in health care use among Medicare beneficiaries age 85+. Understanding these differences, and the socioeconomic characteristics that contribute to them, can have important implications for Medicare policies aimed at serving the age 85+ population. Using the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey 2010-13 Cost and Use and 2015-17 Cost Supplement Files, we examined whether and how rural and urban Medicare beneficiaries age 85+ differ in terms of their:

1. socioeconomic and health characteristics that may inform health care use;
2. trends in health care use, including use of inpatient and emergency department (ED) care; …

Health Insurance Co-Ops: Product Availability And Premiums In Rural Counties, Erika C. Ziller Phd, Zachariah T. Croll Ba, Andrew F. Coburn Phd

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Created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Consumer Operated and Oriented Plans (CO-OPs) are private, non-profit health insurers that were designed to increase insurance plan choice and lower premiums in the Health Insurance Marketplaces. Early analyses of the ACA suggested that CO-OPs may be particularly beneficial for rural communities, where fewer individual and small group health insurance options have traditionally been available.

This Research and Policy Brief, authored by research staff at the Maine Rural Health Research Center, explores the early availability and role of CO-OPs in rural and urban counties. We describe the regional distribution and market prevalence of …