A project funded by State Health Access Reform Evaluation (SHARE) to inform federal and state implementation of the Medicaid expansions under the ACA by estimating the size and characteristics of rural residents likely to be newly eligible. The study will provide nationally representative information that identifies the extent to which rural residents live in states that have already expanded coverage to low-income adults; how many eligible individuals have participated; the characteristics of the remaining pool of the rural uninsured; and the potential impact of Medicaid expansions on rural primary care and delivery system capacity.
Established in 1992, the mission of the Maine Rural Health Research Center is to inform health care policy making and the delivery of rural health services through high quality, policy-relevant research, policy analysis and technical assistance on rural health issues of regional and national significance. The Center's core funding is provided by the federal Office of Rural Health Policy.
Citation: Lambert, D., & Gale, J.A. (2012). Integrating care in rural areas. In Smalley, K.B., Warren, J.C., & Rainer, J.P. (Eds.), Rural Mental Health. (pp. 131-148). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Co.
It is well-established that rural communities suffer disproportionatley from a shortage of mental health professionals. Non-physician mental health professionals include psychologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, and licensed professional counselors. This study investigates whether and to what extent licensure laws that determine the permissible scope of practice for each of these professions may affect the availability of mental health services.
This study examines licensure statutes and administrative rules for these professions in all states with at least ten percent of the population living in rural areas (total of 40 states). To determine scope of practice for each of these mental health professions, we examined their legal authority to provide five core mental health services: assessment, diagnosis, treatment planning, individual and group counseling, and psychotherapy. Since prescriptive authority had not been granted to any of these professions at the time of our study, this function was excluded from our analysis.
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