- Weathering the Storm Together: Community Resiliency Hubs Hold the Promise of Local Self-Sufficiency and Supportive Mutual Aid
- Virginia Tech Researchers Bring Rural Families into the Nation's Largest Study of Early Brain and Child Development
- Expanding Access to Cancer Care for Rural Veterans
- VA: Veterans Rural Health Advisory Committee, Notice of Meeting
- Scaling Rural Wellness with Clever Collaboration
- Stroudwater Associates Enhances Rural Healthcare Dashboard with New Data to Support State Rural Transformation Grant Applications
- Harvest Season Is Here: Busy Times Call for Increased Focus on Safety and Health
- HHS Dispatches More Than 70 Public Health Service Officers to Strengthen Care in Tribal Communities
- Wisconsin Rural Hospitals Team up to Form Network
- CMS Launches Landmark $50 Billion Rural Health Transformation Program
- American Heart Association Provides Blood Pressure Kits at Southeast Arkansas Regional Libraries to Support Rural Health
- Broadening Access to Minimally Invasive Surgery Could Narrow Rural-Urban Health Gaps
- Instead of Selling, Some Rural Hospitals Band Together To Survive
- Help Line Gives Pediatricians Crucial Mental Health Information to Help Kids, Families
- Rural Health: A Strategic Opportunity for Governors
Farmers Now Owe a Lot More for Health Insurance
Last year was a tough one for farmers. Amid falling prices for commodity crops such as corn and soybeans, rising input costs for supplies like fertilizer and seeds, as well as the Trump tariffs and the dismantling of USAID, many farms weren’t profitable last year.
And now, the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that many Americans, including farmers, relied on to purchase health insurance are gone, having expired at the end of December.
James Davis, 55, who grows cotton, soybeans, and corn in northern Louisiana, said he didn’t know how he and his wife would afford coverage. Their share of their insurance premium quadrupled for 2026, jumping to about $2,700 a month.
“You can’t afford it,” Davis said. “Bottom line. There’s nothing to discuss. You can’t afford it without the subsidies.”
More than a quarter of the agricultural workforce purchases health insurance through the individual marketplace, according to an analysis from KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News.
That 27% rate is much higher than the overall population’s — only 6% of U.S. adults have non-group coverage.
Farmers are used to facing challenges such as unpredictable weather and fluctuating commodity prices. But the loss of the enhanced subsidies, coupled with challenging economic conditions, will make coverage unaffordable for many.
Without major intervention from Washington, farmers say they’ll have to choose between being uninsured or leaving the farm work behind for a job that offers health insurance.
Read more.
Pennsylvania Announces New CHIP Plan
Pennsylvania’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) will now offer a new plan, WellKids by Pennsylvania Health and Wellness. CHIP is a health insurance program for children and teens who are not eligible for Medicaid up to age 19.
WellKids is now one of nine MCOs offering coverage through CHIP joining Aetna, Capital Blue Cross, Geisinger Health Plan, Health Partners Plan, Highmark, Keystone First, United Healthcare, and UPMC. PA Health and Wellness is a Managed Care Organization and subsidiary of the Centene Corporation along with WellCare (Medicare) and Ambetter (Pennie/Commercial).
Updates Made to Rural Health Clinic Medicare Claims Processing Manual
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated the Medicare Claims Processing Manual Chapters 9, 13, and 18. Updates include reimbursement after cost reporting clarification and manual guidance related to Rural Health Clinic (RHC) preventative vaccines in claims processing and benefit policy.
The manual can be accessed here.
CMS Releases 2023 T-MSIS Behavioral Health Data Book
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the 2023 Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS) Behavioral Health (BH) Data Book and accompanying static tables.
This is a publicly available collection of the number of Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiaries with a substance use disorder (SUD) or a mental health (MH) condition and the services they received. The report catalogs the treatment of SUD and MH in the Medicaid and CHIP beneficiary population and services provided for the treatment of SUD and MH under Medicaid and CHIP.
Access the Data Book here.
New Data Available on the Use of Medicaid Long-term Services and Supports
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released several new publications on Medicaid long-term services and supports (LTSS) users and expenditures. These publications include LTSS rebalancing trends and patterns in users and expenditures for different home and community-based services (HCBS) and institutional care, nationally and across states for 2023 as well as in rural and urban areas.
Access the data here.
GAO Seeks Nominations for Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC)
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), a federal agency that examines how taxpayer dollars are spent, is now accepting nominations for MedPAC appointments, with terms beginning May 2026. MedPAC is an independent congressional agency established by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to advise the U.S. Congress on issues affecting the Medicare program. By statute, the Commission includes nationally recognized experts in health finance, economics, actuarial science, health care delivery and management, provider reimbursement, and clinical practice. The Commission must reflect diverse professional backgrounds, broad geographic representation, and a balance between urban and rural perspectives.
Letters of nomination and resumes should be submitted to MedPACappointments@gao.gov by February 6.
Now Available: Medicare Survey on Hospital Outpatient Drug Costs
Per an Executive Order and the 2026 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) final rule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will survey hospitals to find out how much they pay for outpatient drugs. This survey runs from January 1 through March 31, 2026. The results will help shape Medicare payment policies starting in 2027. Hospitals that received OPPS payments for outpatient drugs between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, must complete the survey.
Contact OPPSDrugSurvey@cms.hhs.gov with any questions. Comments are due on by March 31.
New Form Available for Provider Complaints about Medicare Advantage Plans
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched a new online form for providers to submit complaints about Medicare Advantage plans. The form collects basic information about the complainant, beneficiary, provider, and plan, along with a summary of the complaint. Submitted complaints will be routed to CMS’s Health Plan Management System (HPMS) Complaints Tracking Module (CTM), where they will be queued and reviewed by CMS.
New Brief Addresses How Access to Community-based Care Impacts Homebound Residents
Without access to adequate institutional or home and community-based care, older adults may become homebound, a state that is associated with poorer health outcomes, higher rates of hospitalization and emergency department use, and greater risk of social isolation, functional decline, and mortality. Yet, little is known about how rates of being homebound differ between rural and urban older adults by specific health indicators. This brief from the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center, Rural-Urban Differences in Homebound Status by Health and Functional Limitations, addresses that gap.
New Brief: Transportation for Rural Residents with Disabilities
Transportation is a well-documented social driver of health with particularly unique features and challenges in rural communities. Beyond being an important driver of health for rural residents generally, transportation at the intersection of rurality and disability is especially vital. This case series from the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center examines how two rural organizations in Minnesota and Idaho provide transportation services to individuals with disabilities in their areas.
Access the report here: Transportation for Rural People with Disabilities: Example Programs from Minnesota and Idaho.