Rural Health News

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Republican members of the House Ways and Means Committee yesterday introduced legislation to repeal the 96-hour physician certification requirement as a condition of payment for critical access hospitals.
Rural hospitals and other eligible providers can apply through March 4 for a portion of $21 million in Health Resources and Services Administration grants to develop new rural residency programs or training tracks in family medicine, internal medicine and psychiatry to expand the physician workforce in rural areas
Critical access hospitals that did not achieve meaningful use in the Medicare Electronic Health Record Incentive Program for the 2017 reporting period can apply through Nov. 30 for a hardship exception to avoid a 2017 payment adjustment.
Health care providers and others can apply through Jan.
The Texas A&M University Rural and Community Health Institute recently received a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration to create a technical advisory center for vulnerable rural hospitals.
A total of 64 rural hospitals closed between 2013 and 2017, more than twice the number during the prior five-year period.
The House of Representatives last night voted 361-61 to pass legislation to provide $178.1 billion in discretionary funding for the departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education in fiscal year 2019 and extend current funding levels for other federal programs until Dec. 7.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security yesterday held a hearing to examine health care experiences and costs in rural America.
House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) and member Adrian Smith (R-Neb.) yesterday urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to take AHA-supported action to continue to provide regulatory relief for rural providers.
The Senate today voted 93-7 to pass legislation that would provide $178.1 billion in discretionary funding for the departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education in fiscal year 2019 and extend current funding levels for other federal programs until Dec. 7.
The Federal Communications Commission today agreed to seek comments for 30 days on creating a new $100 million Connected Care Pilot Program to support telehealth for low-income Americans, especially those living in rural areas and veterans.
The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology today held a hearing examining challenges and solutions related to the issue of rural broadband.
The AHA today submitted comments on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ inpatient prospective payment system proposed rule for fiscal year 2019, offering key recommendations with respect to Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospital payment, CAR T-cell therapy, rural hospitals, the wage index, hospital quality reporting and value programs, and electronic health information exchange.
The Federal Communications Commission commissioners have voted unanimously to approve Chairman Ajit Pai’s order that will increase funding for the Rural Health Care Program by $171 million, as urged by the AHA.
Eligible organizations can apply through July 30 for up to $200,000 in fiscal year 2018 funding to develop opioid use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery plans for high-risk rural communities, the Health Resources and Services Administration announced.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai today, as urged by the AHA, asked his colleagues to approve quickly an order that would increase funding for the Rural Health Care Program by $171 million.
The Bipartisan Budget Act retroactively extended the enhanced low-volume payment adjustment, which provides an add-on payment to qualifying low-volume hospitals to help improve access to care in rural areas.
The Senate Finance Committee today held a hearing on “Rural Health Care in America: Challenges and Opportunities.”
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee today held a hearing on how to address the growing shortage of physicians, nurses and other health care professionals, especially in rural areas, as the U.S. population ages.
The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government today held a hearing on the Federal Communications Commission’s and Federal Trade Commission’s budget request for fiscal year 2019.