Comparing Rural to Urban Areas
Rural residents are slightly more likely to depend on Medicaid for coverage than are urban ones, according to a new report from the North Carolina Rural Health Research & Policy Analysis Center. The study is a first-time look at rural and urban use rates, broken down on a state-by-state level. Nationwide, 15.6 percent of rural residents obtain health coverage through Medicaid, compared to 12.5 percent of urban residents.
Montana to Fund Treatment Facilities
For the first time ever, Montana will directly pay for drug and alcohol treatment. Governor Brian Schweitzer has set aside $4 million in state funds to open eight drug and alcohol treatment centers in the state. The centers will provide six to nine months of residential care for individuals with addiction disorders, with charges based on ability to pay. Each center will have room for eight people at a time.
Physicians Design Own Health Plan
Physicians in Wisconsin are mimicking the efforts of farmers by creating their own health insurance cooperative (see SHN, June 11, 2007). The Wisconsin Medical Society’s recently launched Physicians Health Cooperative will enhance the purchasing power of society members, their families and clinic staff. Each participating clinic may choose up to four health plans (provided by WPS Health Insurance) to offer their staff and employees. To help get the program off the ground, each member of the PHC must pay a membership fee equivalent to one month’s premium, which will be held in trust and used to pay the premium for the 36th month. Those who join the cooperative are required by state law to remain in the group for at least three years.
Rural residents in the Show Me State are receiving more of their health care through nurse-owned clinics. Currently 12 such clinics operate in the state, all of which have opened in the past few years, according to the AP/St. Louis Dispatch. Nurse practitioners in the clinics treat minor health ailments, such as sore throats, ear infections and sprained ankles. State law requires the facilities to regularly consult with supervising physicians, who generally work at another site.
© Copyright 2007, State Health Notes
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