- 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
HRSA Poverty Assessment and Investment Dashboard Launched
The Health Resources and Services Administration;s (HRSA) Data Warehouse launched a new resource with an interactive map that shows, by county, how HRSA funding reaches highest need communities.
The dashboard allows anyone – Congressional staff, researchers, advocates, journalists, and members of the public – to examine how HRSA investments were distributed between fiscal years 2021 and 2025. The data are disaggregated by race, sex, age, disability status, and urban/suburban/rural residence.
Medicare Proposes Changes to Medicare Home Health Program
On July 1, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the Calendar Year (CY) 2027 Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) Rate Update proposed rule, which updates the Medicare payment policies and rates for home health agencies (HHAs).
CMS estimates that Medicare payments to HHAs in CY 2027 would increase by approximately 2.4% (about $420 million) compared to CY 2026, based on the proposed behavior adjustments for the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) and the fixed-dollar loss for outlier payments for CY 2027. Additionally, this rule discusses provision of palliative care services under the Medicare home health benefit and includes a request for information (RFI) regarding the construction of a home health specific wage index.
All comments are due in the Federal Register by 5 pm EDT, August 31, 2026.
CMS Seeks Input: CY 2027 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Payment System Proposed Rule
Earlier this month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Calendar Year (CY) 2027 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) Proposed Rule, which updates Medicare payment policies and rates for hospital outpatient departments.
Proposals include changes to the cost-of-living adjustment for hospitals in Hawaii and Alaska, reduced Medicare payments for drugs purchased through the 340B Drug Pricing Program, and expanded site-neutral payment policies for imaging without contrast services furnished in excepted off-campus provider-based departments. The proposed rule also codifies Section 6225 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 by establishing new requirements for off-campus provider-based departments, including the use of location-specific National Provider Identifiers and provider-based attestations as conditions for OPPS payment beginning in 2028.
In addition, CMS requests information on potential approaches to strengthen the standardization and comparability of Hospital Price Transparency data.
Comment by August 31, 2026
Podcast: Virtual Roads to Real Recovery
Listen or read the transcript of this episode of the Exploring Rural Health podcast focusing on strategies used by the Mercy Virtual Substance Use Recovery Program to build trust and provide patients a seamless bridge into substance use treatment.
This is part 2 in a 3-part series featuring the 2026 Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) Innovation Tank finalists, with Mercy vSURP’s work winning third place.
New Report: Rural/Urban Access to WIC-Authorized Vendors, High-Speed Internet Services
To improve access to prescribed foods through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), state agencies have been offering online shopping options for enrolled families. This report from the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) examines the availability of high-speed internet needed to access these options, distance to the nearest WIC-authorized dealer, and compares rural and urban areas.
The ERS also just released Food Banks in the United States: Systems, USDA Programs, and Participation.
Pennsylvania RHTP Funding FAQs Available
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) has answers to your frequently asked questions (FAQs) about upcoming funding opportunities
Please review the FAQs prior to submitting an eligibility certification and attachments. DHS will begin accepting eligibility certifications at 8 a.m. on Monday, July 27, 2026.
See below for links to specific funding FAQs.
- FAQ: EHR & HIO — Modernizing Healthcare Technology and Enabling Interoperability
- FAQ: FQHC & FQHC Look-Alikes — Modernizing Healthcare Technology and Enabling Interoperability
FCC to Begin Review of Rural Health Care Program
On July 16, 2026, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a draft Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) and Order in its long-running Promoting Telehealth in Rural America proceeding (WC Docket No. 17-310).
The FCC’s Rural Health Care (RHC) Program provides universal service financial support to help rural health care providers obtain telecommunications and broadband services at discounted rates, facilitating the delivery of telehealth to some of the most remote areas in the nation. According to the FCC’s 2025 Universal Service Monitoring Report, nearly 14,000 health care providers received support from this Universal Service Fund program that year.
The program disbursed $523 million in 2024, and the FY2026 cap is $744.2 million. commenters to explain how their positions further both goals.
From the Benson Institute for Broadband & Society
Navigating Mental Health and Substance Use Care Guide Published
Developed with input from more than 60 family representatives, this SAMHSA guide helps families understand and navigate the mental health and substance use care system.
Navigating Mental Health and Substance Use Care: An Introductory Guide for Families walks caregivers through finding services, weighing treatment options and supporting a loved one across the whole family.
FDA Broadens Access to Over-the-Counter Naloxone Nasal Spray for Opioid Overdose
FDA Broadens Access to Over-the-Counter Naloxone Nasal Spray for Opioid Overdose
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Rextovy, a 4-milligram over-the-counter naloxone nasal spray, for the emergency treatment of opioid overdose, adding a third nonprescription option that people can buy in pharmacies, convenience stores and online.
Officials said broader availability and market competition could lower costs and put the overdose-reversal medication in more hands as overdose deaths continue their recent decline.
Federal OIG Issues First Favorable Opinion on “Food-as-Medicine” Program
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS OIG) recently issued OIG Advisory Opinion 26-16, a favorable opinion addressing a health center’s “food-as-medicine” program.
The program provides eligible low-income patients with certain chronic conditions free produce boxes or healthy-food vouchers, together with nutrition counseling, health assessments, laboratory testing, and related clinical services.
Click here to learn more.