Rural issues

The 2026 AHA Rural Health Care Leadership Conference, February 8-11 in San Antonio, will gather more than 1,000 rural health leaders committed to advancing rural health and providing quality care for patients and communities. The conference will feature top rural practitioners sharing actionable…
The Rural Maternal Health Data Support program, supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration, has launched a data repository that allows users to build customized maternal health profiles for U.S. counties.
A report on obstetric services in hospitals by the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center found that between 2010 and 2024, 718 hospitals nationwide lost obstetric services due to obstetric unit or hospital closure.
The Department of Health and Human Services Sept. 4 announced that it awarded $11.2 million in grants to 15 recipients across 14 states to develop new physician residency programs in rural and tribal communities.
The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy’s Rural Health Redesign Center will host a webinar on Sept. 24 at 2 p.m. ET, where hospital CEOs will discuss the process of converting to a rural emergency hospital designation.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) July 31 issued its hospital inpatient prospective payment system (PPS) and long-term care hospital (LTCH) PPS final rule for fiscal year (FY) 2027. 
Seven independent rural hospitals have joined forces to launch the Kansas High Value Network, a new collaborative organization designed to expand access to care, improve clinical outcomes and reduce operating costs while preserving local governance.
The 2027 AHA Rural Healthcare Leadership Conference will be held Jan. 31-Feb. 3 in Orlando, Fla.
In this AHA Rural Town Hall webinar, AHA leaders and rural health experts will share timely insights and practical perspectives to support rural hospitals and the communities they serve.
The AHA Aug. 5 provided comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on the distribution of funding for the Rural Health Transformation Program. The program will fund $50 billion to rural providers from fiscal year 2026 to FY 2030.