When the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health & Human Services met in Bend, Oregon earlier this year, their focus was the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV) in rural areas. MIECHV was established in 2010 as part of the Affordable Care Act and is administered by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau here at HRSA, in partnership with other agencies within the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). The committee made eight rural-specific recommendations to HHS, including an effort to distinguish between rural and urban outcomes, and to ease data and administrative burdens that come with federal funding.
