On November 16th, HRSA’s Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) issued a funding announcement seeking applicants capable of synthesizing and analyzing key policy issues and changes to support the work of the Rural Policy Analysis Program. This information is needed to enable public policy makers, providers, leaders, and decision makers to understand the challenges ahead for rural populations.
Just like the U.S. population as a whole, the rural population is aging, report poorer health and more physical limitations than urban residents, experience greater financial and geographic barriers to access to care, and less likely to have health insurance coverage than the metro population. Added to these facts, rural communities have fewer healthcare providers and services due to declining rates for family medicine residencies, redistribution of J1 Visa waivers, plus the shortage of allied and other healthcare professionals in the workforce.
In addition to these challenges, there are also significant changes taking place in Federal and State policies. The Affordable Care Act is going to have a profound impact on rural communities since the Act contains a wide variety of rural-specific provisions that are specific to rural populations.
Eligible applicants can include domestic public, private, non-profit or for-profit organizations along with state, local, and Indian tribal governments, institutions of higher education, and hospitals. Applicants must have knowledge of Medicare and Medicaid policies, rural delivery systems, and public health.
The program will provide funding during fiscal year 2012 to 2016. Approximately $225,000 is expected to be available annually to fund one award for up to five years. The application is due January 17, 2012. For additional information, go to www.grants.gov or email Nicole Comeaux at ncomeaux@hrsa.gov or (301) 443-5433.
