- 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
- Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation of the Medicare Program (Executive Order 14192) - Request for Information
- Dr. Mehmet Oz Shares Vision for CMS
- CMS Refocuses on its Core Mission and Preserving the State-Federal Medicaid Partnership
- Social Factors Help Explain Worse Cardiovascular Health among Adults in Rural Vs. Urban Communities
- Reducing Barriers to Participation in Population-Based Total Cost of Care (PB-TCOC) Models and Supporting Primary and Specialty Care Transformation: Request for Input
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- 2025 Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Proposed Rule
- Rural America Faces Growing Shortage of Eye Surgeons
- NRHA Continues Partnership to Advance Rural Oral Health
- Comments Requested on Mobile Crisis Team Services: An Implementation Toolkit Draft
- Q&A: What Are the Challenges and Opportunities of Small-Town Philanthropy?
Pennsylvania Governor’s Administration Publishes Agenda of Potential Regulatory Changes
A road map for regulatory actions being considered by Pennsylvania Governor Shapiro’s administration is published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The 44-page document lists regulations being drafted by state agencies covering a wide range of activities under state government oversight. The regulatory agenda establishes a timetable for when the regulations may be proposed but notes that the nature and complexity of regulation will affect that date. An executive order dating to 1996 requires a semi-annual publication of the agenda. The agendas are compiled “to provide members of the regulated community advanced notice of regulatory activity,” according to the notice by the governor’s office. “The agenda represents the Administration’s present intentions regarding future regulations.”
Pennsylvania Counties Brace for Impact of State Budget Impasse
With the prospect that the state’s budget impasse could drag on for another two months appearing increasingly likely, county leaders are bracing for the impact of having to pay their bills when the state isn’t paying its bills. Tens of millions of dollars for county-level services for substance abuse, child welfare, mental health, and the intellectually disabled are expected to be held up in the coming days and weeks unless the state budget impasse is resolved, the Associated Press reports. State Senate Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R-Westmoreland) expressed that the Senate may return in August to pass the budget bill. However, the code bills, which provide the state government with how the state funds are to be allocated and spent, remain in the House. The House is not expected to return until the week of Sept. 26, after a special election on Sept. 19 for the House seat that is currently open due to Rep. Sara Innamorato’s (D-Lawrenceville) resignation.
Two National-Level Organizations Supporting Rural Postpartum Health Across the United States
These case studies from the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center profile two national organizations doing unique work in the area of rural postpartum health: MomMoodBooster and Pack Health. Both organizations aim to improve postpartum mental health through online content delivery combined with peer coaching support. These may serve as examples to others considering this work.
The National Conference of State Legislatures Promotes Graduate Medical Education Training for Rural Areas
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) describes actions taken by states to address physician shortages in rural and underserved areas through graduate medical education (GME). The article covers statewide collaborations and appropriations, Medicaid payments, and incentives for rural clinical training.
Community Member Perspectives on Adapting the Cascade of Care for Opioid Use Disorder for a Tribal Nation in the United States
Researchers interviewed 20 individuals – clinicians, peer support specialists, cultural practitioners, and others familiar with OUD treatment – in a Minnesota tribal community. The Cascade of Care model measures the quality of outcomes at each stage of treatment, from diagnosis to long-term maintenance, and was first proposed in 1998 as an approach to care for HIV/AIDS.
The USDA Awards $129 Million in Emergency Rural Health Care Grants
See which states and rural health projects got funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Emergency Health program. This initiative supported 179 new grant recipients that will expand access to health care in 39 states and Puerto Rico. Part of the American Rescue Plan Act passed by Congress in March 2021, the funding is intended to support rural hospitals and healthcare clinics, improve facilities, purchase new equipment, and help distribute fresh food to families, senior citizens, veterans, and people with disabilities.
Leveraging Career Pathway Programs: Read about the State Strategies to Combat Health Care Workforce Shortages
The National Conference of State Legislatures provides an overview of programs states have implemented to address or mitigate workforce shortages. The report describes programs across various stages of education, including K-12, community college, and undergraduate programs.
Here You Can Read the New Report to Congress on Baseline Trends and Framework for Evaluating the No Surprises Act
This report from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) details key trends in factors that will be important to evaluate the No Surprises Act (NSA) and describes the framework for future evaluations. The NSA, enacted on December 27, 2020, addresses certain instances of surprise billing where individuals with private health coverage receive unexpectedly high medical bills when they are unknowingly or unavoidably treated by an out-of-network provider, facility, or provider of air ambulance services. ASPE found that overall, between 2012 and 2020, out-of-network claims decreased similarly in rural and urban areas.
Here’s the New Report to Congress on Medicaid Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT).
In this report, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provide an extensive analysis of Medicaid coverage of NEMT, including the types of medical services accessed, monthly trends in the use of NEMT versus telehealth services, and a comparison of the volume of NEMT services used by states and geographic area. For example, in 2021, about 7 percent of beneficiaries living in frontier or remote areas used NEMT compared to less than 4 percent of all Medicaid beneficiaries.
Here You Can Read About the Accommodation and Acceptability of Health Care by Non-Metropolitan/Metropolitan and Race/Ethnicity Status
Among the findings from the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis:
- Non-metropolitan respondents more frequently reported lack of transportation, whereas metropolitan respondents were more likely to report not getting appointments scheduled soon enough (both examples of accommodation barriers).
- Among the non-metropolitan respondents, lack of transportation was most common among Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black, and American Indian/Alaska Native respondents compared to non-Hispanic White counterparts.
- Among non-metropolitan respondents, a higher percentage of American Indian/Alaska Native respondents reported not being at all satisfied with their care.