- 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?
VA Centers Use Telehealth to Give Vets Access to Creative Arts Therapy
This article highlights the Rural Veterans TeleRehabilitation Initiative (RVTRI) program which gives rural veterans living with traumatic brain injuries access to rehabilitation treatments through art, music, dance, and creative writing. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) also launched The Creative Forces: National Endowment of the Arts Military Arts Healing Network which expanded the therapy program across the country. Read more here.
Rural Development Expert Takes Aim at Rural Drug Addiction
This article covers an address given by the senior advisor of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) at a meeting of the National Association of Counties’ (NACo) Rural Action Caucus at their Legislative Conference. It discusses the ONDCP’s efforts to address drug addiction and treatment services in rural America. Read more here.
Teledentistry: Connecting Rural Communities to Dental Care
This resource summarizes a report that found rural Americans are more likely to experience tooth decay than their urban counterparts. It explores teledentistry as a solution to addressing the disparity and discusses states that have introduced legislation to establish teledentistry and expand access to oral health services. Read more here.
Using Data to Define Rural Populations
This resource offers a step-by-step guide for developing a rural community baseline dataset, and identifies links to helpful resources and existing datasets, with the intent to help State Offices of Rural Health (SORH) focus on the demographics influencing health and the health needs of the rural communities within their state. Read more here.
Quantifying the Impact of the Rural Health Safety Net
This resource examines the vulnerability of 453 rural hospitals based on financial and operational metrics. It includes the Rural Vulnerability Study, infographics, and presentation slides on this analysis from the 2020 National Rural Health Association Policy Institute. It also provides state data tables showing the financial impact of federal policies on rural hospitals. Find more information here.
Prevalence of Children Aged 3-17 Years With Developmental Disabilities, by Urbanicity: United States, 2015-2018
This article presents results of a study examining geographic disparities in diagnoses of developmental disabilities and use of related services. It features statistics with breakdowns by prevalence of various conditions and by urban or rural location. Read more here.
Poverty Rates by Region and Metro/Nonmetro Status, 2014-18 Average
This resource presents a bar chart showing metropolitan and nonmetro poverty rates for the Northeast, Midwest, West, and South. Find more information here.
Patient and Hospital Factors Associated With Unexpected Newborn Complications Among Term Neonates in US Hospitals
This article presents the results of a study to examine the rates of severe, unexpected complications in full term newborns in 576 hospitals from January 2015 – December 2017. It explores whether rates vary significantly among hospitals and looks at risk factors and possible causes of variation. It also features statistics on characteristics of mothers, hospitals, and delivery types, and median percentage of rural population in the counties where deliveries occurred. Read more here.
National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services Meeting Summary, Washington, D.C., September 9-12, 2019
This resource summarizes the 86th meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services (NACRHHS), which was held in Washington, D.C. It presents an overview of national perspectives on several topics, including issues impacting rural children, youth, and families; the priorities of federal agencies regarding rural health; the implications of federal policy changes on rural providers; and challenges and opportunities affecting older rural Americans. It features perspectives from national stakeholder groups. Read more here.
How to Better Support Small Physician-led Accountable Care Organizations: Recent Program Updates, Challenges, and Policy Implications
This resource describes the strategies of successful small physician-led Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). It discusses how policy changes contribute to the opportunities and challenges for these ACOs. It also explores how “ACO Enablers” aid small ACOs in participating in risk-bearing models. It includes a brief discussion of how the ACO Investment Model program supported ACOs in rural and underserved areas with access to capital. Read more here.