Rural Health
News by Topic: Health conditions
Nov 5, 2025 - Notice of a final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) addressing: 1) changes to the Physician Fee Schedule and Medicare Part B payment policies; 2) policies for the Medicare Prescription Drug Inflation Rebate Program under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022; 3) the Ambulatory Specialty Model; 4) updates to the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program expanded model; 5) updates to drugs and biological products paid under Part B; 6) Medicare Shared Savings Program requirements; 7) updates to the Quality Payment Program; 8) updates to policies for Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs); 9) updates to the Ambulance Fee Schedule regulations; 10) codification of the Inflation Reduction Act and Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 provisions; and 11) updates to the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program. These regulations are effective January 1, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Nov 5, 2025 - Announces a new free training for rural first responders that increases agricultural health and safety knowledge for injury prevention and emergency preparedness.
Source: National Farm Medicine Center
Nov 5, 2025 - Offers data showing rural and urban differences in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) incidence and factors contributing to those higher rates. Discusses smoking, occupational hazards, access to healthcare, and social determinants of health. Notes effective approaches for overcoming these contributors to COPD.
Source: Loma Linda University Health News
Oct 27, 2025 - Highlights the work of an Iowa researcher investigating the risk of exposure to antimicrobial-resistant genes for homes and rural communities in close proximity to concentrated animal feeding operations. Discusses the implications for not just farmworkers, but also their families.
Source: Iowa College of Public Health News
Oct 22, 2025 - Highlights the rural focus of the new Association of American Cancer Institutes president. Goals include developing a rural focused oversight committee, understanding the connection between ruralness and other social determinants of health, identifying best practices related to decreasing rural morbidity and mortality in cancer, and more.
Source: University of Nebraska Medical Center Newsroom
Oct 22, 2025 - Highlights the rural expansion of a Missouri program promoting meal planning, freezing meals, and sharing excess food. Discusses how the program promotes healthier eating for rural residents with higher rates of diet-related illness and other health disparities.
Source: MU Extension News
New Texas Energy Package Could Help Older Adults in Long-Term Care Facilities During Extreme Weather
Oct 20, 2025 - Discusses the challenges with caring for older adults in rural long-term care settings during natural disasters with a close look at the impact of 2021's Winter Storm Uri in Texas. Describes the outsized impact infrastructure failures have on the health of older adults. Highlights the Texas Backup Power Package, legislation aiming to strengthen energy resilience for critical facilities and essential services.
Source: The Daily Yonder
Oct 10, 2025 - Discusses a tuberculosis (TB) outbreak in rural Alaska, describing both the public health response and disparate rates of TB for Alaska historically. Notes stigma related to TB treatment as a barrier to successfully increasing testing.
Source: Alaska Public Media
Oct 9, 2025 - Highlights a new program in rural South Carolina to address malnutrition through protein focused nutrition prescriptions. Participants will have access to food boxes twice a month for 5 months as well as cooking demonstrations.
Source: Clemson News
Oct 2, 2025 - Describes a mobile training unit traveling to rural Missouri hospitals to offer additional training ahead of cold and flu season.
Source: KFVS 12