- Fact Sheet: The Biden-Harris Administration Highlights Investments in Rural America, Invites Public Nominations for Rural Innovators Initiative
- Rural Victims of Intimate-Partner Violence Need More Resources and Support, Study Finds
- A Tribe in Maine Is Using Opioid Settlement Funds on a Sweat Lodge to Treat Addiction
- Fact Sheet: USDA, HHS Announce New Actions to Reduce Impact and Spread of H5N1
- Call for Experts: Forum on Aging, Disability, and Independence
- Bill to Expand Definition of 'Village' Qualifying for Water Funds Passes Alaska House
- Child Care Workers Caught in Middle of Michigan's Broken Child Care System
- Few Options Available for Substance Abuse Treatment in the Big Bend
- In Rural Texas, ERs Are Facing a Growing Mental Health Crisis
- Ways and Means Members Put Forth Solutions to Strengthen Telehealth Access and Improve Health Care for Rural Communities
- Sage Memorial Hospital in Navajo Nation Constructs New Facility to Improve Health Care
- How the State, Tribes and Federal Government Are Working to Curb SD's Syphilis Epidemic
- Rural Children Struggle to Access Hospital Services, Say Researchers
- RPHARM Program Fulfills Need for Rural Pharmacists
- A Pilot Program in Rural Vermont Hopes to Build a Blueprint for Substance Abuse Recovery
HHS Announces New Federal 12-Month Continuous Eligibility Expansion
Effective January 1, 2024, most children under the age of 19 who meet their state’s Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) eligibility requirements will remain continuously eligible (CE) for coverage for a full 12-month period. This issue brief estimates that the number of children eligible for Medicaid and CHIP will increase by 3.5 percent in states that previously had partial or no CE policies for children as of January 2023. This increase in average monthly eligibility is driven by an estimated 1.3 million children becoming eligible for at least one additional month of Medicaid or CHIP coverage. Ultimately, the impact of any federal 12-month CE policy is dependent on state enrollment of Medicaid- and CHIP-eligible children, as only enrolled children can benefit from CE expansion. Medicaid and CHIP are important sources of coverage for rural children. As of 2020-2021, Medicaid/CHIP provided coverage for a larger share of both adults and children in small towns and rural areas than in metropolitan counties nationwide.
CMS Final Rule: Streamlining Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility Determination, Enrollment, and Renewal Processes
The final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) makes changes to simplify the eligibility and enrollment processes in Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and the Basic Health Program. This rule aligns enrollment and renewal requirements for most individuals in Medicaid, creates timeliness requirements for redeterminations of eligibility, removes barriers to children enrolled in CHIP, and updates recordkeeping requirements. These changes are intended to reduce coverage disruptions and increase retention of eligible individuals. CMS also released new and updated resources to support the end of the Medicaid continuous enrollment, or ‘unwinding’, including guidance on unwinding processes and requirements for states; guidance to Medicaid managed care plans; and new resources for partners to help families navigate their state Medicaid fair-hearing process, such as if someone was determined no longer eligible for Medicaid.
Hospital Price Transparency: What Hospitals Need to Know
Thursday April 4 at 1:00 pm Eastern. Subject matter experts with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will present the latest hospital price transparency policies and enforcement actions effective January 1, 2024, in a webinar produced by the Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub). These policies were effective January 1, 2021 and affect all hospitals operating in the United States. For those who are unable attend, RHIhub keeps an archive of all webinars on its site.
Brief Published on Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in Rural Communities: Perspectives from Key Informant Interviews
In this brief from the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research center, respondents from advocacy and support organizations identified challenges faced by rural victims across six themes: 1) lack of access to IPV related support services and health care, 2) knowledge and competency limitations among professionals providing services to IPV victims, 3) insufficient resources to meet basic needs, 4) harmful attitudes and norms, 5) detrimental policies and systems, and 6) intersecting risks for IPV victims who belong to marginalized or at-risk groups (e.g., those who are pregnant/postpartum, immigrants, BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, and People of Color], and/or LGBTQ+ [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning]).
RHIhun Releases New Toolkit: Preventing Unintentional Injury
Named by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as one of the five leading causes of death for rural populations in the United States, unintentional injuries can be fatal or nonfatal injuries that are unplanned and often preventable. This new resource from the Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub) gives the how and why injuries are so prevalent, and then provides a collection of effective program models with resources for planning, funding, and sustainability.
Study Published on the Effects Of Medicaid Expansions on Coverage, Prenatal Care, and Health among American Indian/Alaska Native Women
In a study funded by the National Institutes of Health, researchers examined how expansions for state Medicaid for American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) women were associated with health insurance, prenatal care, health conditions, and birth outcomes. They found Medicaid expansions increased the proportion of AI/AN women reporting healthcare coverage, had no effects on the first-trimester prenatal care usage or birthweight of AI/AN women, and mixed evidence of increased rates of pre-pregnancy chronic conditions after expansions.
Quality Improvement Course for Rural Emergency Medical Services Being Offered
The online course, funded by FORHP, introduces rural EMS providers to the concept of quality improvement (QI). The program, which was initially designed for the staff of healthcare organizations, has been modified to meet the needs of rural EMS by dividing the QI concept into three distinct levels that build upon each other.
ICYMI: Achieving Birthing-Friendly Status in Rural Hospitals
In case you missed it, the Rural Health Information Hub provides a transcript and recording of the hour-long March 12 webinar discussing maternity care improvements rural hospitals must make to earn the Birthing-Friendly designation from CMS.
CMS Releases LTCH Continuity Assessment Record and Evaluation Data Set Q&As
The Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Continuity Assessment Record and Evaluation Data Set is the assessment instrument LTCH providers use to collect patient assessment data in accordance with the LTCH Quality Reporting Program. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have published a consolidated set of Q&As based on inquiries to the LTCH Post-Acute Care (PAC) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Help Desk from September 2020 to March 2024. This set of Q&As offers LTCH providers additional clarifications to existing guidance. CMS has archived some previous Q&As, all of which can be found in the LTCH Quality Reporting Archives.
Partnerships to Address Social Needs Across Metropolitan and Non-Metropolitan Prospective Payment System Hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals
The RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis Explores the extent to which hospitals partner with community organizations to address population and/or community health needs.