- CMS: Medicare Program; Prospective Payment System and Consolidated Billing for Skilled Nursing Facilities; Updates to the Quality Reporting Program for Federal Fiscal Year 2026
- CMS: Medicare Program; FY 2026 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update and Hospice Quality Reporting Program Requirements
- Public Inspection: CMS: Medicare Program: Prospective Payment System and Consolidated Billing for Skilled Nursing Facilities; Updates to the Quality Reporting Program for Federal Fiscal Year 2026
- Public Inspection: CMS: Medicare Program: Fiscal Year 2026 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update and Hospice Quality Reporting Program Requirements
- CMS: Request for Information; Health Technology Ecosystem
- VA: Staff Sergeant Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program Funding Opportunity
- State: 60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: J-1 Visa Waiver Recommendation Application
- Public Inspection: CMS: Request for Information: Health Technology Ecosystem
- HHS: Request for Information (RFI): Ensuring Lawful Regulation and Unleashing Innovation To Make American Healthy Again
- VA: Solicitation of Nominations for the Appointment to the Advisory Committee on Tribal and Indian Affairs
- GAO Seeks New Members for Tribal and Indigenous Advisory Council
- VA: Staff Sergeant Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program Funding Opportunity
- Telehealth Study Recruiting Veterans Now
- USDA Delivers Immediate Relief to Farmers, Ranchers and Rural Communities Impacted by Recent Disasters
- Submit Nominations for Partnership for Quality Measurement (PQM) Committees
We Can Do This: COVID-19 Public Education Campaign
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services announced a national effort to help community partners promote COVID-19 vaccine confidence. The campaign includes educational materials targeted to specific audiences and seeks volunteers for the COVID-19 Community Corps.
Celebrating One Year of Telehealth.HHS.gov
Today marks the one-year anniversary of the website, a one-stop resource on telehealth for patients and providers. Visit to get the latest information, including telehealth tips (in English and Spanish) for patients, to telehealth best practice guides for health care providers.
CDC Launches New Website on Racism and Health
On April 8, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched a new Racism and Health website that will be a hub for CDC’s activities on disparities and the factors that cause them.
ACL Strategies for Helping Older Adults and People with Disabilities Access COVID-19 Vaccines
The Administration for Community Living (ACL) offers examples and promising practices for states, municipalities, community-based partners and anyone else working to ensure access to vaccination. Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services released an issue brief on potential barriers to vaccination for homebound older adults.
Facts About COVID Care for the Uninsured
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) helps uninsured individuals find no-cost COVID-19 testing, treatment and vaccines. The HRSA Uninsured Program provides claims reimbursement to health care providers generally at Medicare rates for testing, treating, and administering vaccines to uninsured individuals, including undocumented immigrants. There are at-a-glance fact sheets for providers and for patients in English and Spanish. Find more information here.
Awards for the Rural Health Care Services Outreach Program
The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy awarded more than $12.7 for this four-year program for improved health services tailored to the specific needs of local communities. For the first time, awarded funding includes more than $3.7 million to the Healthy Rural Hometown Initiative to address the underlying factors related to the five leading causes of avoidable death (heart disease, cancer, unintentional injury/substance use, chronic lower respiratory disease, and stroke). Program funding will also support improving social determinants of health, chronic disease management and prevention, care coordination, telehealth, dental care, and behavioral health, among other areas. Visit the Rural Health Information Hub online to learn more about successful program models and evidence-based toolkits that have come from the work of FORHP-funded projects.
Commentary: Biden’s Infrastructure Plan Takes Aim at Rural America
By Joe Belden
The newly released “fact sheet” on rural investments within the American Jobs Plan sheds some light on Biden administration’s economic strategy for rural America.
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When the Meth Lab Is in Your Rural Neighborhood
“If you see something, say something.” Okay. But what if you smell something?
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Number of New Covid Cases Remained Constant in Rural Counties Last Week; Deaths Drop by Half
By Tim Murphy and Tim Marema
The rural death count from Covid-19 was the lowest since July. New cases increased by a modest 2%.
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Rural Assembly Everywhere: White House Official Calls for ‘Historic’ Levels of Rural Investment
By Tim Marema
Susan Rice, head of the Domestic Policy Council, says the Biden administration’s jobs plan will help rural communities build on their “unique assets and ambitions.”
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