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.
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Author:
Alan Morgan
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The Department of Health and Human Services announced late last week that it would be awarding 40 facilities $300,000 each for Health IT development. The awards, totaling $11.9 million, will be used to purchase hardware, software, and to train staff.
In announcing the awards, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said, "We need health information technology to bring our healthcare system into the 21st century. These funds will help safety net providers acquire state-of-the-art health...
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Author:
Alan Morgan
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The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction will hold their first official meeting on September 8th followed by their first public hearing on September 13th. Director Douglas Elmendorf from the Office of Management and Budget will testify at this hearing. The Committee will also discuss ground-rules for their work and procedures they will follow throughout their deficit reduction negotiations.
The Joint Select Committee was created in the Budget Control Act of 2011. It is tasked...
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Author:
Alex Olson
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What works for urban doesn’t always work for rural. That was the first concern Jane Bolin, JD, PhD, Southwest Rural Health Research Center director and Texas A&M University Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health professor, had while reading the 38 priorities of Healthy People 2020, a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-sponsored project that establishes objectives for health promotion and disease prevention to improve the health of all Americans over the next...
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Author:
Alan Morgan
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The Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA) altered the discretionary spending limits for fiscal years 2012-2021. The bill included caps for both security and non-security federal spending. The House of Representatives had previously passed budget allocations that resulted in security spending of $10 billion more than the limits in the BCA and non-security (including appropriations for the Department of Health and Human Services) spending of $37 billion less than the limits in the BCA. It is...
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Author:
Alex Olson
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Ashland (Kan.) Health Center had seen 11 providers come and go in 18 years. For a solid decade, there was no doctor serving the 24-bed critical access hospital, nursing home and rural health clinic. But Benjamin Anderson, the hospital’s eighth CEO in less than two decades, had a plan with purpose. “Mission-centered physicians are at the top of their class,” he says. “You don’t go to Africa if you’re not motivated. They’re actively seeking a job with a...
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Author:
Alan Morgan
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President Obama will meet with rural business leaders, farmers, and rural organizations today in Peosta, Iowa. This "Rural Economic Forum" is aimed at increasing innovation and economic growth in rural environments. NRHA President Kris Sparks has been invited to the forum and will attend today.
As part of the forum, the White House announced a number of initiatives aimed at helping the rural economy and rural communities. Included in this announcement, are two initiatives aimed at...
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Author:
Alan Morgan
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The National Rural Health Association sent the following letter to leaders of both houses of Congress today regarding appointments to the new deficit reduction panel authorized by the Budget Control Act of 2011.
NRHA urges you to contact your elected officials now to further explain the need for rural representation on this panel.
Dear Leader Reid, Speaker Boehner, Leader McConnell and Leader Pelosi,
As you know, the Budget Control Act of 2011 included a provision establishing a new...
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Author:
Alan Morgan
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The Senate today passed a bipartisan debt ceiling compromise by a vote of 74-26. The legislation will now be sent to the President for his signature. The agreement, which operates in two parts, would raise the debt ceiling by $900 billion immediately. Medicare and Medicaid would not be impacted by these initial cuts. Despite information that Medicare payments to rural hospitals could be reduced by roughly $14 billion, NRHA and others were successful in lobbying Congress to make sure that...
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Author:
Alan Morgan
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Yesterday, Congressional Leaders and the White House reached a deal that would raise the nation’s debt ceiling, averting a first-ever default by the United States. In addition to increasing the federal borrowing limit, the plan also included substantial deficit reduction measures.
The agreement, which operates in two parts, would raise the debt ceiling by $900 billion immediately in August and September. Medicare and Medicaid would not be impacted by these initial cuts...
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Author:
Alan Morgan
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President Obama announced late Sunday evening that a deal to raise the debt ceiling had been reached by the White House and House Republican Leadership. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid indicated that he had signed off on the agreement and said that a vote Sunday evening on the proposal was possible in the Senate. It remains to be seen if rank and file Republicans will approve the deal.
Specifics of the deal are still being released. The original increase in the debt ceiling would...
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