NRHA's Rural Health Voices blog offers informed commentary on the latest news in rural health care from NRHA staff and editorials from selected contributors.
Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the Rural Action Plan, the first HHS-wide assessment of rural healthcare efforts in more than 18 years and the product of HHS’s Rural Task Force, a group of experts and leaders across the department first put together by HHS Secretary Alex Azar in 2019. The plan features a strategy with four main points: building a sustainable health and human services model for...
Read more
-
Author:
Mason Zeagler
-
Yesterday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) unveiled the details of the Trump Administration's long-awaited, new rural health payment model, the Community Health and Rural Transformation (CHART) Model. The CHART Model aims to, "[Unleash] innovation through new funding opportunities that will increase access and improve quality," by allowing a limited number of rural health providers to participate in one of two tracks, the Community Transformation Track and...
Read more
-
Author:
Mason Zeagler
-
Yesterday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed to cut Medicare Part B payments to hospitals for 340B-purchased drugs next year and in subsequent years by 6.2 percent below the current rate. However, as in the past, Critical Access Hospitals and rural Sole Community Hospitals were exempted from the cuts and will continue to be paid at reasonable cost and the default ASP plus 6 percent rate in the proposal. CMS made the announcement in its Hospital Outpatient...
Read more
-
Author:
Josh Jorgensen
-
Last night, President Trump signed an Executive Order to enhance the health of all Americans by improving access to care, particularly for those living in rural areas. The National Rural Health Association (NRHA) applauds the ‘Executive Order on Improving Rural Health and Telehealth Access’ and hopes that Congress will contribute to the momentum made by President Trump in future legislative packages.
Read more
-
Author:
Mason Zeagler
-
The National Rural Health Association and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) have partnered to present a series of regional webinars to highlight Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding available to support America's rural healthcare providers, titled "Rural Providers and the Paycheck Protection Program."
Read more
-
Author:
Mason Zeagler
-
The Department of Health and Human Services has released the terms and conditions of the funds that are being awarded through the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund, or the “Provider Relief Fund”. This funding will be crucial to rural providers, who are slated to recieve a $10 billion carve-out of the funds, and NRHA has highlighted important details below to ensure that rural providers are not unaware of the conditions of these funds.
Read more
-
Author:
Mason Zeagler
-
Yesterday, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a $10 billion carve-out within the $100 billion Provider Relief Fund for rural hospitals and health clinics. NRHA is grateful to rural health leaders within the Administration, such as HHS Secretary Alex Azar and HHS Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan, and Congressional rural champions for recognizing the needs of rural health care.
Read more
-
Author:
Max Isaacoff
-
Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that rural health clinics and hospitals would receive a $10 billion carve out of the Provider Relief Fund. This funding will offer critical, immediate assistance to rural hospitals, rural health clinics and other rural providers who have been struggling to keep their doors open. Additionally, HHS announced that this money will be distributed as early as next week. Here are important details...
Read more
-
Author:
Mason Zeagler
-
Today, the Bipartisan Policy Center Rural Health Task Force released a new report that offers practical and politically viable solutions for fixing the current health care crisis in rural communities. The recommendations, largely called for by NRHA, aim to stabilize hundreds of rural hospitals that are at risk of closing and create pathways for transforming these facilities into models of care that best meet a community's needs. Many of...
Read more
-
Author:
Mason Zeagler
-
The COVID-19 pandemic has now spread to more than 1,000 rural communities. The loss of revenue over the last few weeks due to the inability to provide non-emergency care is destabilizing core health services in rural America. At the same time, hundreds of rural hospitals are already on the verge of closure, which will leave tens thousands of rural patients without access to local emergency health services. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, nearly half of all rural hospitals were operating at a...
Read more