- Rural Children Struggle to Access Hospital Services, Say Researchers
- Outlining the Intersection between Health Care and Missing and Murdered Indigenous People
- Biden-Harris Administration Announces Critical More Than $1.5 Billion State and Tribal Opioid Response Funding Opportunities
- RPHARM Program Fulfills Need for Rural Pharmacists
- Farmers Don't Do Mental Health
- A Pilot Program in Rural Vermont Hopes to Build a Blueprint for Substance Abuse Recovery
- Rural Telehealth Extension Reintroduced in Congress
- Students From Across the State Emphasized the Need for Mental Health Resources in Rural Alaska During a Conference
- The South Was the Center of Rural Population Growth Last Year
- How HHS SUD Confidentiality Regulations Will Impact Rural Providers
- VA Announces Expansion of "Close to Me" Cancer Program as Part of the Cancer Moonshot, Bringing Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Closer to Thousands of Veterans
- Navajo Psychiatrist Bridges Gaps Between Native American Culture and Behavioral Health Care
- Biden-Harris Administration Releases National Strategy for Suicide Prevention and First-Ever Federal Action Plan
- Biden Administration Sets Higher Staffing Mandates. Most Nursing Homes Don't Meet Them.
- Rural Communities Face Primary Care Physician Shortage
MIPS Participation for Low-Volume Providers
Clinicians are encouraged to go to the Quality Payment Program (QPP) Participation Status Tool to determine if they are required to report into the Merit-based Incentive Program (MIPS) for 2020. Those excluded from MIPS due to low volumes may be eligible to voluntarily report (‘opt-in eligible’). Check out the 2020 MIPS Opt-In Reporting and Election Process Toolkit for more information and visit the Reporting Options Overview Webpage for next steps. Clinicians concerned about the effect of COVID-19 on their 2020 performance data can submit an application for an extreme and uncontrollable exception until February 1 (extended deadline) and cite COVID-19 as the reason for the application. Find more information here.
Medicaid Maternal and Infant Health Initiative
Over the course of 2021, CMS will roll out new technical assistance opportunities for state Medicaid programs and health providers to address maternal and infant health beginning with the Postpartum Care Learning Collaborative webinar series in January. Click here to register for the webinars.
Final Report on Local Use of Rural Hospitals
This final report from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) builds on the September data brief and explores the extent to which rural Medicare beneficiaries bypass their nearest rural hospital and which hospital services rural beneficiaries most often seek locally and at distant hospitals.
Accountable Health Communities Evaluation Report
This first evaluation report of the CMS Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation Accountable Health Communities (AHC) Model focuses on the beneficiaries served in the initial year of the model, which is testing whether addressing health-related social needs can improve health and reduce costs for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.
Price Transparency Compliance
Starting January 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) plans to audit a sample of hospitals for compliance with the new price transparency requirements in addition to monitoring complaints. Hospitals may face civil monetary penalties for noncompliance. Read more here.
Rural Value‐Based Care Models: A Summit Findings Report
This Rural Health Value report summarizes themes and recommendations from a two-day summit on how to design and support value-based care models for rural providers. Find more information here.
Comments Requested: Proposed Changes to HIPAA Privacy Rule – February 12
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) seeks comment on proposed changes to the use and disclosure of protected health information (PHI) in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule, which protects the privacy and security of individuals’ medical records and other PHI. Find more information here.
National Rural Health Day Events Archive
Where available, webinar recordings, PowerPoint slides, and transcripts for 2020 National Rural Health Day programming can now be accessed on the National Rural Health Day website. All links are free and accessible to the public. Event topics range from telehealth and COVID-19 testing to social determinants of health and substance use disorder. Participating organizations included HHS entities CDC, CMS, HRSA, NIH, the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services, the National Association of Rural Health Clinics, and the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health. Find more information here.
AHRQ Hospital Utilization Trends
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) provides a series of data files on monthly hospital utilization. The tables include state-by-state data on hospitalizations due to COVID-19, influenza, and other respiratory conditions; normal newborns and deliveries; non-elective stays admitted through emergency departments; and elective inpatient stays. Read more here.
CDC Recommended Strategies for Initial COVID-19 Vaccination
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) produced a guide intended to assist state, tribal, local, or territorial immunization programs with planning for the first three phases of vaccination: Phase 1a, which includes healthcare personnel and residents of long-term care facilities; Phase 1b, frontline essential workers and individuals aged 75 years and older; and Phase 1c, other essential workers, persons 65-74 years of age, and individuals 16-64 years of age with underlying medical conditions. Read more here.