- Who Needs Dry January More: Rural or Urban Drinkers?
- Rural Families Have 'Critical' Need for More Hospice, Respite Care
- States Help Child Care Centers Expand in Bid To Create More Slots, Lower Prices
- Rural Telehealth Sees More Policy Wins, but Only Short-Term
- Healing a Dark Past: The Long Road To Reopening Hospitals in the Rural South
- Study: Obstetrics Units in Rural Communities Declining
- Q&A: Angela Gonzales (Hopi), on New Indigenous Health Research Dashboard
- Not All Expectant Moms Can Reach a Doctor's Office. This Kentucky Clinic Travels to Them.
- Hawaiʻi's Physician Shortage Hits Maui Hardest
- Choctaw Nation Found a Better Way to Deliver Harm Reduction. It's Working.
- In Rural America, Heart Disease Is Increasingly Claiming Younger Lives
- HHS Launches Healthy Border 2030 Framework Highlighting Health Priorities and Actions to Support Border Communities and Populations
- Gaps in Mental Health Training, Rural Access to Care Compound Az's Maternal Mortality Crisis
- Enticing Rural Residents to Practice Where They Train
- New Round of Federal Funding Open for Rural Health Initiatives
Report Released on Nonmetropolitan Premiums, Issuer Participation, and Enrollment in Health Insurance Marketplaces in 2022
This policy brief from the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis describes differences in unsubsidized and net-of-subsidy premiums in 2022 between nonmetropolitan and metropolitan counties in Health Insurance Marketplace plan design and availability. Features statistics with breakdowns by metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore areas.
RFI Seeking Comments on Reauthorizing the Older Americans Act
Comment by March 21. First signed into law in 1965, the Older Americans Act (OAA) provides critical services that address the social drivers of health for older adults such as nutrition, transportation, senior centers, elder rights protections, caregiver support, and health promotion. The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee issued a Request for Information (RFI) from stakeholders on policies the Committee should consider during the reauthorization of the OAA. Responses to the RFI must be submitted to OAA@help.senate.gov by March 21, 2024.
Data Released on The Nature of the Rural-Urban Mortality Gap
Using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, researchers at USDA’s Economic Research Service find that the age-adjusted natural-cause mortality rate for the prime working age population was 43 percent higher in rural areas than in urban areas.
How Medicaid Can Help Enrollees Quit Smoking
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released an informational bulletin with strategies that states have used to improve delivery of tobacco cessation services to beneficiaries of Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). States are required to cover certain services for certain groups. For example, counseling and pharmacotherapy for enrollees who are pregnant must be covered. Coverage for other services, such as over-the-counter medications, is optional. All recommended tobacco cessation services – including individual, group and telephone counseling, and all seven FDA-approved cessation medications – are Medicaid or CHIP-coverable services, and the bulletin provides resources and strategies states can use to increase quit rates. Medicaid is an important source of health coverage in rural areas, where smoking rates are often higher than in urban areas.
Federal Agencies Seek Input on the Effects of Consolidation in Health Care
Comment by May 6. The Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, and Federal Trade Commission seek public comment on the effects of private equity funds’ acquisition of health care providers, mergers involving providers and health systems, and private payers’ purchase of physician practices. There is concern about patients’ health, workers’ safety, quality of care, and the rising cost of health care for patients and taxpayers. The Departments are particularly interested in receiving input on the effects of consolidation on patients and health care providers, including any differences between rural and urban areas.
CMS Shares Vaccine Billing Guide for Skilled Nursing Facilities
Summarizes billing guidance for long-term care facilities and pharmacies, including information on billing for influenza, pneumococcal, COVID-19, Tdap, shingles, and RSV vaccines.
Vaccine Resource Hub Shares Talking Points and FAQs About Long Covid
The Vaccine Resource Hub is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to improve vaccine confidence and access. The talking points are available in English and Spanish and describe long COVID symptoms and populations that are at greater risk.
Help shape the future of the Marketplace Quality Rating System (QRS) and Qualified Health Plan (QHP) Enrollee Experience Survey
Comments due March 28
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requests comment on proposed refinements to the QRS and QHP Enrollee Survey to advance health equity. These programs are part of the Marketplace Quality Initiative, which provides information to help individuals and small businesses select Marketplace health plans. According to the RUPRI Health Insurance Chartbook, the number of Marketplace plans available in rural areas has grown in recent years and has become an important source of health coverage for rural residents. Submit comments to Marketplace_Quality@cms.hhs.gov and reference “Marketplace Quality Initiatives (MQI)-Draft 2024 QRS Call Letter” in the subject line.
New Report Assesses Impact of CMS Quality Programs
The report from the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS) analyzes the performance of nearly 500 quality measures used in CMS’s quality and value-based incentive payment programs. It provides patients and families, clinicians, measure developers, federal partners, and researchers with updates on progress toward reducing disparities across the measure portfolios. For example, rural/urban disparities were most often detected in quality measures addressing Wellness and Prevention and Chronic Conditions; however, several measures of Person-Centered Care no longer show rural/urban disparities. Findings from focus groups underscore the need to develop measures that address bias in care delivery, deficits in cultural competence, and social drivers of health relative to unmet health needs, poor access, and low health literacy.
View the 2024 Physician Fee Schedule Webinar Recording
RHIhub posted a recording of the hour-long webinar from February 27 where experts from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reviewed rural-relevant policy updates from the Calendar Year 2024 Physician Fee Schedule final rule. The new rule makes policy updates that may increase accessibility of behavioral health services, telehealth services, and other vital health services in rural areas. Presentation materials, video recording, and audio recording are also now available. Additional documents from CMS that may be helpful in understanding these updates:
- The CMS Manual System provides new provider specialty codes and payment instruction for Marriage and Family Therapists and Mental Health Counselors;
- The Medicare Learning Network gives guidance on health equity services – such as Caregiver Training Services, and Community Health Integration – that are now covered under the Physician Fee Schedule.