The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that USDA is seeking applications from energy providers to lower costs for people in rural areas. The grants will help providers offset costs for people whose household energy expenses total 275% of the national average or higher.

USDA is making the funding available through the Rural Utilities Service’s High Energy Cost Grant program.

To learn more, read the full Stakeholder Announcement.

The SCAN Foundation offers 10 steps for developing a master plan for aging with rural focus, covering leadership development, community engagement, implementation planning, evaluation, and sustainability. Highlights rural-specific challenges for aging in rural communities.

– Thursday, January 30 at 2:00 pm Eastern. Subject matter experts from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will present highlights of policy updates from the Calendar Year 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule in a webinar produced by the Rural Health Information Hub.  Covered topics will include: general care management, Advanced Primary Care Management, telehealth, policy updates for Rural Health Clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers, behavioral health, dental services, and more. The webinar is free, and you must register to attend.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a Medicare Learning Network (MLN) summary for Calendar Year 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule. Specifically, this MLN provides updates on changes that apply to services provided in 2025 including, telehealth, caregiver training, therapy, cardiovascular risk assessment and management, evaluation and management, behavioral health, Advanced Primary Care Management, global surgery payment, and dental and oral health.

Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released information on billing Medicare for Advanced Primary Care Management (APCM). ACPM services combine elements of several existing care management and communication technology-based services you may have already been billing for patients. Starting January 1, 2025, providers may use a new payment bundle that reflects the essential elements of advanced primary care.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated their Fact Sheet on Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs) to include new information on Indian Health Service REHs and 2025 payment information.  Congress created REHs to preserve access to emergency and outpatient services in rural areas.  FORHP funds the Rural Health Redesign Center to provide 1:1 technical assistance to help hospitals and communities make informed decisions about converting to this model of care.

– Researchers from the HRSA-funded Rural Residency Planning and Development Technical Assistance Center studied the effects of specific hospital classifications on Medicare GME payments. In this simulation study, the authors found that that median opportunity cost per resident was around $70,000 and $65,000 for SCHs and MDHs, respectively. This study demonstrates the significant financial barriers that SCHs and MDHs face in participating in GME program, under the current reimbursement method. The paper concludes that policy adjustments addressing the barrier may incentivize rural facilities to launch or participate in GME, which may help lessen the geographic maldistribution of physicians.

The HRSA-supported National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers provides an overview of artificial intelligence (AI), applications of AI, and how AI can be used in health care.

Using online survey data from 1,146 pharmacists, researchers examine their perceptions about drug use, drug screening, interventions, and the commitment and readiness to address opioid use disorder and drug use disorder in their patients.  The research includes breakdowns of pharmacist demographics as well as rurality of pharmacy locations.  Pharmacists who were White, practiced at a rural location, worked at a chain pharmacy, had not received opioid-related training in the past year, or practiced screening patients for opioid use had elevated odds of perceiving concerns about opioid use problems in their practice settings.  Having practiced pharmacy services for less time, and having received training for OUD-related preventive services within the last year, were associated with increased levels of commitment/readiness for providing care to patients with drug use problems.

– Respond by January 10. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is seeking people with lived or living experience (PWLLE) with drug use to participate in a working group to the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse. The working group will advise on how to better engage PWLLE with drug use in NIDA-funded research. The working group will also help create standards to guide researchers in engaging this population. This is an opportunity to ensure that the rural voice of PWLLE is represented in substance use disorder research.