The national nonprofit Housing Assistance Council has a map that shows the level of risk by county in this comprehensive guide to readiness, response, and recovery in rural areas.

The Government Accountability Office is requesting nominations for the committee that makes recommendations on physician payment models to the Department of Health and Human Services. Deadline July 11. 

This week, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) issued guidance stating that audio-only telemedicine appointments comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, also known as HIPAA, as long as providers take measures to protect patient privacy.  HHS’s Office of Civil Rights says that this is an important tool for reaching people in rural areas with limited internet access, and/or those who are unable to use video.

In April, the federal AmeriCorps joined with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to announce a new and ongoing investment in recruitment and training for careers in public health at the local level.  In its first year, the new initiative is expected to recruit 3,000 members who will learn from the expertise and best practices of existing CDC, AmeriCorps, and other public health programs.  Applications are being accepted for organizations in each state; many are directing efforts to rural areas that have been underserved.

This past spring, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the latest enrollment figures for Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). These programs serve as key connectors to care for millions of Americans.

Medicare

As of November 2021, 64.1 million people are enrolled in Medicare. This is an increase of nearly 111,000 since the last report.

• 36.2 million are enrolled in Original Medicare.
• 28.0 million are enrolled in Medicare Advantage or other health plans. This includes enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans with and without prescription drug coverage.
• 49.1 million are enrolled in Medicare Part D. This includes enrollment in stand-alone prescription drug plans as well as Medicare Advantage plans that offer prescription drug coverage.

Detailed enrollment data can be viewed here: https://data.cms.gov/summary-statistics-on-beneficiary-enrollment/medicare-and-medicaid-reports/medicare-monthly-enrollment

Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)

As of September 2021, 84,828,543 of people are enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP. This is an increase of 1,213,766 since the last report.

• 77,879,760 are enrolled in Medicaid
• 6,948,783 are enrolled in CHIP

For more information on Medicaid/CHIP enrollment, including enrollment trends, visit https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/program-information/medicaid-chip-enrollment-data/medicaid-and-chip-enrollment-trend-snapshot/index.html

*Over 11.8 million individuals are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, and are counted in the enrollment figures for both programs.

Every day, CMS ensures that people across the U.S. have coverage that works. See the latest coverage totals across all CMS programs at https://www.cms.gov/pillar/expand-access. This information is updated on a monthly basis. Enrollment data for CMS programs are compiled on different timelines owing to the unique nature of each program.

Read about a Rural Health Roundtable and site visit made by state lawmakers to the Appalachian Mountain Community Health Centers’ Tallulah Health Center in Robbinsville, North Carolina. The visit focused on the integration of primary care and behavioral health services and the use of telehealth to expand service access.

Researchers at the Rural and Underserved Health Research Center determined the distribution of family practitioners in rural areas by race/ethnicity and also whether rural minority physicians were more likely to be in underserved rural areas.

Researchers at the North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center examined changes in outpatient care as a revenue source for rural hospitals.

Promotional materials for the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline are available in English and Spanish for new mothers needing free, confidential support, and referrals to care.

The Economic Research Service (ERS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture released an update to its collection of state- and county-level data on agricultural data as well as population, income, poverty, food security, education, and employment.