- CMS: Medicare Program; Prospective Payment System and Consolidated Billing for Skilled Nursing Facilities; Updates to the Quality Reporting Program for Federal Fiscal Year 2026
- CMS: Medicare Program; FY 2026 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update and Hospice Quality Reporting Program Requirements
- Public Inspection: CMS: Medicare Program: Prospective Payment System and Consolidated Billing for Skilled Nursing Facilities; Updates to the Quality Reporting Program for Federal Fiscal Year 2026
- Public Inspection: CMS: Medicare Program: Fiscal Year 2026 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update and Hospice Quality Reporting Program Requirements
- CMS: Request for Information; Health Technology Ecosystem
- VA: Staff Sergeant Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program Funding Opportunity
- State: 60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: J-1 Visa Waiver Recommendation Application
- Public Inspection: CMS: Request for Information: Health Technology Ecosystem
- HHS: Request for Information (RFI): Ensuring Lawful Regulation and Unleashing Innovation To Make American Healthy Again
- VA: Solicitation of Nominations for the Appointment to the Advisory Committee on Tribal and Indian Affairs
- GAO Seeks New Members for Tribal and Indigenous Advisory Council
- VA: Staff Sergeant Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program Funding Opportunity
- Telehealth Study Recruiting Veterans Now
- USDA Delivers Immediate Relief to Farmers, Ranchers and Rural Communities Impacted by Recent Disasters
- Submit Nominations for Partnership for Quality Measurement (PQM) Committees
Innovations in Delivering COVID-19 Vaccinations
The Rural Health Information Hub updated its COVID-19 Innovations section to include examples of how rural communities are addressing vaccine hesitancy and distribution. RHIhub asks other rural communities and providers to share their own experiences.
Advancing Population Health in Rural Places: Key Lessons and Policy Opportunities
This paper from the RUPRI Health Panel reviews Medicare and Medicaid demonstration projects, determining critical questions and opportunities for future policy.
Online Resource for Licensure of Health Professionals
Created by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards, the site provides up-to-date information on emergency regulation and licensing in each state for psychologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists assistants, and social workers.
Mobilizing Health Care Workforce via Telehealth
ProviderBridge.org was created by the Federation of State Medical Boards through the CARES Act and the FORHP-supported Licensure Portability Program. The site provides up-to-date information on emergency regulation and licensing by state as well as a provider portal to connect volunteer health care professionals to state agencies and health care entities.
SAMHSA Training and Technical Assistance Related to COVID-19
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) created this list of resources, tools, and trainings for behavioral health and recovery providers.
Rural Response to Coronavirus Disease 2019
The Rural Health Information Hub has a compendium of rural-specific activities and guidelines, including Rural Healthcare Surge Readiness, a tool with resources for responding to a local surge in cases. New: Rural Innovations in COVID-19 Vaccination.
ATTC Network COVID-19 Resources for Addictions Treatment
The Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) Network was established in 1993 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The online catalog of COVID-related resources includes regularly-updated guidance and trainings for professionals in the field.
NIH: Methamphetamine Overdose Deaths Rise Sharply Nationwide
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) report that, from 2011-2018, deaths more than quadrupled among non-Hispanic American Indians and Alaska Natives from 4.5 to 20.9 per 100,000 people. The U.S. average for people aged 25 – 54 increased from 1.3 to 7.3 per 100,000 people during that time period.
GAO on Federal Response to the Pandemic
The January report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) provides an overview of actions taken and offers 13 additional recommendations that include improving the medical supply chain through the Strategic National Stockpile, and better service to older adults in rural areas through the Older Americans Act.
Protecting Rural Access to Care Act
On January 25, 2021, Reps. Antonio Delgado (D-NY) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY) introduced the Protecting Rural Access to Care Act (H.R. 489), a bill intended to protect the benefits of rural hospitals already struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic. “The shuttering of one hospital, let alone three, in a rural area where residents travel long distances for health care and hospitals experience difficulty in retaining and attracting medical professionals, is unconscionable,” Delgado said. “The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored what folks upstate already knew — we need more access to health care facilities, not less.” A key measure in the bill would reverse a change made in 2015 to how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) defines secondary roads, which can determine whether hospitals qualify for the Critical Access Hospital program. This new change to the definition would ensure many existing rural hospitals do not lose the benefits of being a Critical Access Hospital once they begin recertification.