- 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?
New Recommendations for Elder Care Have Been Released
The National Advisory Committee for Rural Health & Human Services, which advises the HHS Secretary on rural issues, has released a new policy brief and recommendations on how to expand the Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly in rural areas.
New COVID-19 Vaccination Rates Have Been Released
From the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis: In December 2022, the proportion of the population ages 12+ with a completed primary COVID-19 vaccination (i.e., have a second dose of a two-dose vaccine or one dose of a single-dose vaccine) was 75.5 percent in metropolitan counties, 60.9 percent in micropolitan counties, and 56.8 percent in noncore counties.
New Information Releseaed for Critical Access Hospitals.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently published a new fact sheet summarizing the Medicare rules and regulations for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). This latest version includes the revised CAH location requirement relative to other facilities to include areas with only secondary roads available and the requirement to inform the patient or the representative of their rights before starting or ending care and establish a grievance process.
Here You Can Read the Updated Certification Criteria for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics
This month, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released the updated certification criteria for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs), a model designed to ensure access to coordinated comprehensive behavioral health care. This new document follows from a draft version of SAMHSA released in December. SAMHSA also posted a summary of changes between the new criteria and the previous version and deadlines for implementation of the updated criteria. Currently, there are over 500 CCBHCs operating across the country, including some CCBHCs in rural areas.
New Reports Sent to Congress on Medicare and Medicaid Payment Policy
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) and the Medicaid and CHIP Payment Advisory Commission (MACPAC) submit annual reports to Congress with analyses and recommendations from Commissioners on Medicare and Medicaid, respectively. In their March report, MedPAC highlights Medicare and total operating margins for rural and urban hospitals and recommends a new Medicare Safety Net Index to identify safety net hospitals and direct payments to them. MACPAC examines Medicaid’s Disproportionate Share of Hospital (DSH) payments to rural and urban hospitals.
New Key Findings Released on Crowded Housing and Housing Cost Burden by Disability, Race, Ethnicity, and Rural-Urban Location
Among the key findings in this report from the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center: A higher proportion of urban adults (18.8 percent) live in crowded housing than rural adults (14.4 percent), with differences by race and ethnicity. Urban Hispanic adults have the highest proportion in crowded housing, followed by both rural Hispanic adults and rural American Indian adults.
Assessing Geographic Variability in Key Indicators of Air Quality: A Rural vs. Urban Comparison of Pollution and Socio-Economic Factors
This study from the Rural and Minority Health Research Center examines rates of air pollution between rural and urban census tracts.
HHS Climate Pledge Reopens
The initiative, launched by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services last April, asks hospitals, health systems, and other industry stakeholders to make efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase their communities’ climate resilience. The pledge is one part of a larger HHS effort to consider the impact that climate change has on the entire country and take steps toward sustainability. A recent article in The Appalachian Voice describes the impact of climate change in rural mountain communities. Watch a video that explains what the healthcare sector can do and sign the pledge by Wednesday, April 12 to be recognized in an Earth Day announcement.
FCC Publishes Request for Comment on Proposed Changes to the Universal Service Rural Health Program
In January, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted an order and further notice of proposed rulemaking (FNPRM) (FCC 23-6) to amend Universal Service Rural Health Care (RHC) Program rules. The order restored the method of calculating rural and urban rates as it existed before the adoption of the 2019 Rule and Order that created a rates database. It also simplified invoicing procedures and altered priority rules if the program cannot fully fund all applications submitted. The FNPRM sought comment on new application data collection plans to verify that the requested support is consistent with prevailing charges for similar telecommunications services in the area. It also proposed capping support for satellite service at the level of terrestrial service, proposes changes to expedite new healthcare provider review, and proposed other changes to streamline the application process. The order and FNPRM were published in the Federal Register on March 23, 2023, starting a 30-day public comment period (ending April 24, 2023) and a subsequent 30-day reply comment period (ending May 22, 2023) for people to comment on other filer’s comments. Interested parties may comment in the Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) under WC Docket No. 17-310 at: https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings/standard
A Recent Survey of State Policies on Medicaid Unwinding Has Been Released
This report presents findings from a survey of state Medicaid and CHIP program officials conducted by Kaiser Family Foundation and the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families on actions states are taking to prepare for the lifting of the Medicaid continuous enrollment provision (aka unwinding), as of January 2023. The report summarizes state policies on outreach to enrollees, staff capacity, and plans to monitor the impact of the unwinding on enrollment, and the tables show state-level policies on these issues. Nearly a quarter of individuals under age 65 who live in rural areas are covered by Medicaid.