- Request for Information (RFI): Evolving the Network of the National Library of Medicine
- Dental Therapists, Who Can Fill Cavities and Check Teeth, Get the OK in More States
- Colorectal Cancer Is Rising among Younger Adults. Some States Want to Boost Awareness.
- Rural Hospitals Built During Baby Boom Now Face Baby Bust
- Food Stamps Go Further in Rural Areas — Until You Add Transportation Costs
- CMS Announces Resources and Flexibilities to Assist with the Public Health Emergency in the State of Texas
- CMS Proposes New Payments for Digital Health Under CY2025 PFS Draft Rule
- Improving Public Health by Strengthening Community Infrastructure
- Biden Harris Administration Proposes Policies to Reduce Maternal Mortality, Advance Health Equity, and Support Underserved Communities
- Nearly Half of U.S. Counties Don't Have a Single Cardiologist
- Randolph County, Ill. Turns Unused Part of Nursing Home Into State-Of-The-Art Behavioral Health Center
- Safe and Stable Housing Is a Foundation of Successful Recovery
- Rural RPM Program Is a Lifeline for Pregnant Women
- Expert: Rural Hospitals Are Particularly Vulnerable to Increasing Cyberattacks Targeting Healthcare Facilities
- Biden-Harris Administration Invests Over $200 Million to Help Primary Care Doctors, Nurses, and Other Health Care Providers Improve Care for Older Adults
SAMHSA to Release $110 in Emergency Grant Funding
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has expedited its process to release emergency grants to strengthen access to treatments for substance use disorders and serious mental illness during the COVID-19 pandemic. SAMHSA has also updated its list of Frequently Asked Questions about provision of methadone and buprenorphine for treatment of opioid use disorder during the emergency.
ACL Announces $1 Billion in CARES Act Grants to Support Older Adults and People with Disabilities
Through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the Administration for Community Living (ACL) will administer grants to boost programs that deliver meals, ensure safe transitions home following hospitalizations, and provide other essential services to older Americans and Americans with disabilities during this challenging time.
HHS Awards Nearly $165 Million to Combat COVID-19 in Rural Communities
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) awarded nearly $165 million to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in rural communities. These investments will support 1,779 small rural hospitals and provide additional funding to 14 HRSA-funded Telehealth Resource Centers (TRCs) to provide technical assistance on telehealth to help rural and underserved areas combat COVID-19.
AHRQ’s Easy-to-Understand Telehealth Consent Form
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) provides a sample telehealth consent form and guidance for health care providers to use with patients.
Click here to access the form.
CMS Issues Recommendations to Re-Open Health Care Systems in Areas with Low Incidence of COVID-19
On April 19, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued new recommendations specifically targeted to communities that are in Phase 1 of the Guidelines for Opening Up America Again with low incidence or relatively low and stable incidence of COVID-19 cases. The recommendations update earlier guidance provided by CMS on limiting non-essential surgeries and medical procedures. The new CMS guidelines recommend a gradual transition and encourage health care providers to coordinate with local and state public health officials, and to review the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other supplies, workforce availability, facility readiness, and testing capacity when making the decision to re-start or increase in-person care.
Comments Requested: CMS Proposed Rule for Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities
On April 21, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a proposed rule for the FY 2021 Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Prospective Payment System (IRF PPS). The proposed rule includes a 2.9 percent payment increase ($270 million total) which rural areas will experience as an average increase of 3.2 percent. CMS is also proposing to amend the regulations to remove the post-admission physician evaluation requirement and to allow non-physician practitioners to perform certain requirements that currently a rehabilitation physician must perform. The rule also includes a five percent cap on wage index decreases and adopts the most recent Office of Management and Budget statistical area delineations with 34 urban counties becoming rural and 47 rural counties becoming urban. Comments are due on Juen 15, 2020.
Comments Requested: Medicare Revisions in Response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
On March 30, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an array of temporary regulatory waivers and new rules in response to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. CMS’s actions are designed to increase hospital capacity, rapidly expand the health care workforce, and further promote telehealth in Medicare. This interim final rule with comment period includes updates specific to rural health clinics and federally qualified health centers. A full list of CMS waivers and flexibilities for COVID-19 response is available online. Comments are due on June 1, 2020.
New Stimulus Package Passed by Senate Missed the Mark, Rural Advocates Say
By Bryce Oates
The bill contains provisions meant for rural America, but critics believe it misses an opportunity to expand crucial federal programs like SNAP, or extend protections for vulnerable groups, like farmworkers, meatpackers, and family farms.
This Hospital Has Only 8 Nurses. They Are Also the Janitors
By Brianna Bailey
Eight nurses are the overwhelming majority of employees who remain at Haskell County Community Hospital in Oklahoma. The future of the 25-bed hospital, which has been whittled down to operating only an emergency room since 2019, is increasingly grim.
Recreation Counties See Threats to Their Hospitals During the Epidemic
By Bryce Oates
Recreation counties’ reliance on tourism and outdoor recreation may pose an existential threat to some of their publicly funded healthcare systems.