- 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
New PPC Maps Show Impact of H.R. 1 on Children’s Health, Food Security in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children announces the release of an exclusive, interactive series of 24 maps that show, in unprecedented local detail, how H.R. 1’s cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will affect health care access, food security, and economic well-being in every corner of the state.
As federal changes have begun to take effect, it is anticipated that deep cuts and eligibility changes to these critical programs will negatively affect children and their families, leading to the loss of health coverage and reduced food assistance.
In Pennsylvania and across the country:
- Medicaid is the single largest insurer of children. More than 1.1 million Pennsylvania children rely on Medicaid, or 40% of all children in the state.
- SNAP is the most extensive child anti-hunger program. Over 309,000 SNAP households in Pennsylvania include children, making kids among the most vulnerable to food assistance cuts.
The maps show impacts geographically by county and state House and Senate legislative districts.
Click here for the report and maps.
New Report Highlights Importance of Long-Term Services and Supports
A new policy brief investigates the Importance of Long-Term Services and Supports to a High-Performance Rural Health System: Demographic, Policy and Economic Challenges.
The long-term services and supports (LTSS) system is an important element of a high performing rural health system. The purpose of this brief is to assess the potential for transforming the LTSS system while it faces considerable challenges driven by demographic, economic and policy forces. The policy forces include the potential impact of planned expenditure reductions to Medicaid over the 2026-2034 period, with intended as well as unintended effects.
Prepared by the RUPRI Health Panel: Alva O. Ferdinand, DrPh, JD; Mark Holmes, PhD; Alana D. Knudson, PhD; Jennifer P. Lundblad, PhD, MBA; A. Clinton MacKinney, MD, MS; Timothy D. McBride, PhD; and Keith J. Mueller, PhD (Chair)
Contact: Keith J. Mueller, PhD; keith-mueller@uiowa.edu, Chair, RUPRI Health Panel, University of Iowa College of Public Health, 1-319-384-3832
HUD Presents Research on Rural Housing
The Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) is a division within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that conducts research, data analysis, and program evaluations to inform housing policy.
This report examines housing challenges that are unique to rural communities, such as affordability, the physical inadequacy of homes, homelessness, difficulty in aging in place, and disaster response and recovery. The report also describes federal, state, local, and private policy efforts to address these challenges, with details on three rural housing initiatives states have implemented to spur development and boost home ownership.
ERS Publishes Updated Frontier and Remote Area Codes
The Economic Research Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture updated Frontier and Remote (FAR) areas using information from the 2020 Census.
This geographic classification, which was created as a collaboration between USDA’s Economic Research Service and the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, are based on a combination of population size and travel time. There are four FAR levels, with Level 4 being the most remote.
Hospital Price Transparency: Enforcement of 2026 Requirements Starts April 1
In the Calendar Year 2026 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) Final Rule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) added new Hospital Price Transparency requirements and will begin enforcement on April 1.
Hospitals must update the machine-readable file posted on their website to include new allowed amount data elements (median, 10th percentile, 90th percentile, and count), their organizational National Provider Identifier (NPI), and an attestation from a senior official confirming the information is accurate and complete. Hospitals that do not comply may receive warning notices, be required to submit corrective action plans, or face civil monetary penalties that may be publicly reported.
CMS maintains tools and resources to help hospitals in meet machine-readable file requirements.
MACPAC Releases March 2026 Report on Medicaid and CHIP
The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC), a nonpartisan legislative branch agency that provides policy analysis and recommendations on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), released its March 2026 Report to Congress.
The report examines key Medicaid policy areas and presents findings and recommendations for Congress on program access, payment, and oversight. It includes a chapter on Medicaid payment policies to support home- and community-based services (HCBS) workforce, including in rural areas, as well as chapters on behavioral health, justice involved youth transitions to the community, and access to care for Medicaid-enrolled youth in foster care.
List of Clinicians Required to Participate in the Ambulatory Specialty Model Released
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the list of clinicians that are required to participate in the mandatory Ambulatory Specialty Model (ASM) during the 2027 performance year.
The ASM Model is for specialists who commonly treat people for heart failure and low back pain in an outpatient setting across selected regions. The Ambulatory Specialty Model (ASM) Participants dataset contains information on clinicians that are required to participate in the ASM, including their names, National Provider Identifiers (NPI), their cohort, and the performance years for which they must meet ASM’s requirements.
Participants for the 2027 performance year must update their contact information using the ASM Participant Contact Information Form.
Applications Open for State Medicaid Agencies to Participate in the BALANCE Model
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) released the Requests for Applications (RFAs) for State Medicaid Agencies and Part D Plans to participate in the BALANCE (Better Approaches to Lifestyle and Nutrition for Comprehensive Health) Model.
The BALANCE Model aims to increase access to certain GLP-1 medications for weight loss and lifestyle interventions for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. State applications are due on July 31, 2026 and applications for Part D plans are due April 20, 2026 for participation in 2027.
Virtual Nutrition Resources Available for Patients, Providers
Telehealth.HHS.Gov, supported by HRSA’s Office for the Advancement of Telehealth, has a number of tele-nutrition resources for patients and providers. Virtual nutrition care can help reduce chronic disease and obesity by overcoming barriers that are more prevalent in rural communities.
Now Open! Million Hearts® 2026 Hypertension Control Challenge
High blood pressure remains a critical public health challenge, affecting nearly 120 million American adults, yet only about a quarter have their condition under control. A higher rate of hypertension among rural residents remains a major factor that may contribute to their higher risk of potentially preventable premature deaths compared to urban residents. The consequences of uncontrolled hypertension are severe and far-reaching—from heart attacks and strokes to chronic kidney disease and cognitive decline. These outcomes are largely preventable through effective blood pressure management.
The Million Hearts® Hypertension Control Challenge recognizes clinicians, medical practices, and health systems in the United States and its territories that have helped at least 80% of their patients with high blood pressure get it under control. Since 2012, Million Hearts® has recognized 199 Hypertension Control Champions in 44 states and has shared their successful strategies for blood pressure control.
The 2026 Million Hearts® Hypertension Control Challenge is open from March 10 through April 30, 2026, for applications to join these outstanding health care professionals.
- Team-Based Care to Manage Hypertension in Rural Iowa (Sioux Center, Iowa)
- Hypertension Control Innovation in Rural Settings (Bering Strait region in Alaska)
- Excellence in Hypertension Control in a Rural Setting (Lamar, Colorado)
- Rural Kansas Physicians Collaborate to Control Patients’ Blood Pressure (Plainville, Kansas)
Join this collaborative effort to prevent heart disease and stroke nationwide by:
- Encouraging high-performing practices, large or small, to enter the 2026 Million Hearts® Hypertension Control Challenge.
- Inviting those who have not yet reached 80% blood pressure control to read Champion success stories and use the Hypertension Control Change Package to find resources that can help.
- Promoting the Challenge by reaching out to practices that are achieving 80% control and sharing social media messages and graphics about the Challenge and the importance of blood pressure control.
Hypertension Control Champions will be announced in the fall of 2026. If you have questions, please email millionhearts@cdc.gov with “Million Hearts Hypertension Control Challenge” in the subject line.