- 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.
Local Facilitators Lead the Way in Stigma Reduction
This resource describes community-led on opioid use in rural communities, through conversation, workshops, and other resources for addressing substance use disorder.
The University of Rochester Recovery Center of Excellence is one of three such centers funded through the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy’s (FORHP) Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP).
Co-Occurring Disorders and Recovery Support Services
Fletcher Group monthly webinars cover a multitude of SUD-related subjects. The Fletcher Group is one of three FORHP-supported Rural Centers of Excellence on Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Prevention.
Webinar to be held Thursday, July 2 at 2:00 pm Eastern.
HUD Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program Community Selection
As part of the Continuum of Care program, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will select up to 50 communities to execute a coordinated community approach to preventing and ending youth homelessness. At least 16 of the selected communities will be rural.
Grants available, apply by August 10,2026.
DOJ Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act Program
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) provides funding for state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies to implement new or enhance existing programs that offer support for officers’ emotional and mental health, including counseling programs, peer mentoring, suicide prevention, stress reduction, and police officer family services.
The program intends to increase grant funding accessibility for small and understaffed departments, especially those in rural communities.
Apply by August 5, 2026.
HUD Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development makes grants to state and local governments to identify and remove barriers to affordable housing production and preservation to help meet the demand for housing in urban, rural, and tribal communities.
Apply by August 3, 2026.