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Rural Health
News by Topic: Healthcare facilities

Aug 8, 2022 - Announces nearly $90 million in American Rescue Plan funding to support data collection and reporting at nearly 1,400 community health centers to advance health equity. Describes the role of health centers in providing care to underserved and rural communities. Offers an interactive map of award recipients and state-by-state breakdowns.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Aug 5, 2022 - Announces a presidential proclamation of the week of August 7-13 as National Health Center Week, highlighting the work of community health centers to increase access to medical care and public health services in underserved and rural areas. Describes federal investments in the Health Center Program.
Source: The White House
Aug 5, 2022 - The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is seeking comment on the following information collections: 1) Notice of Denial of Medical Coverage (or Payment); 2) Emergency and Foreign Hospital Services and Supporting Regulation in 42 CFR Section 424.103; 3) Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE); and 4) Medicare Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) Competitive Bidding Program—Contracting Forms. Comments are due by October 4, 2022.
Source: Federal Register
Aug 3, 2022 - Notice of final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updating the skilled nursing facility (SNF) payment rates for fiscal year 2023, the Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) parity adjustment, the SNF Quality Reporting Program (QRP), the SNF Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program, and more. Among other things, this rule establishes a permanent cap policy to smooth the impact of year-to-year changes in SNF payments related to changes in the SNF wage index and announces the application of a risk adjustment for the SNF Readmission Measure for COVID-19 beginning in FY 2023. Includes rural references throughout. This rule is effective October 1, 2022.
Source: Federal Register
Aug 3, 2022 - Discusses financial challenges facing rural hospitals even after mergers with larger systems, noting potential benefits for rural communities including improved quality of care and access to technology and resources. Highlights rural hospital changes and merger agreements in North Carolina, as well as concerns about the long-term financial outlook of rural hospitals.
Source: North Carolina Health News
Aug 2, 2022 - Notice from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) seeking comments on revisions to an information collection request titled "Unified Hospital Data Surveillance System (U.S. Healthcare COVID-19 Collection)." Data collected is used to inform federal allocations of limited supplies such as personal protective equipment and medication, inform the White House, conduct research on hospitalization, and communicate to the public through daily and weekly reports for the public's use and analysis. Comments are due by September 1, 2022.
Source: Federal Register
Aug 1, 2022 - Notice of final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) seeking comments on updates to the prospective payment system for inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) for fiscal year 2023. Among other things, this final rule updates the cost-to-charge ratio (CCR) ceiling and urban/rural average CCRs for FY 2023 and make revisions and updates to quality measures and reporting requirements under the IRF quality reporting program. This rule also establishes a permanent mitigation policy to smooth the impact of year-to-year changes in IRF payments related to decreases in the IRF wage index. This rule is effective October 1, 2022.
Source: Federal Register
Aug 1, 2022 - Describes updates to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rules for Medicare payments for acute care hospitals and efforts to support health equity and improve maternal health outcomes. Notes the development of quality measures for the new "Birthing-Friendly" hospital designation and proposed changes to COVID-19 reporting requirements for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and other hospitals.
Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Aug 1, 2022 - Pre-publication notice of final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding changes to the hospital inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) for operating and capital-related costs of acute care hospitals for fiscal year 2023. Among other things, this rule establishes new requirements and revises existing requirements for eligible hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) participating in the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program, updates policies for quality reporting programs, and revises the hospital and CAH conditions of participation (CoPs) for infection prevention and control and antibiotic stewardship programs. This rule also provides updates on the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Program and the Frontier Community Health Integration Project (FCHIP). This rule is effective October 1, 2022.
Source: Federal Register
Jul 29, 2022 - Notice of final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updating the FY 2023 prospective payment rates, outlier threshold, and wage index for Medicare inpatient hospital services provided by inpatient psychiatric facilities (IPF), including psychiatric hospitals and excluded psychiatric units of an acute care hospital or Critical Access Hospital. This rule establishes a permanent mitigation policy to smooth the impact of year-to-year changes in IPF payments related to decreases in the IPF wage index. In addition, this rule includes responses to public comments on the results of the data analysis of the IPF Prospective Payment System adjustments and a request for information on Measuring Equity and Healthcare Quality Disparities Across CMS Quality Programs. The changes will be effective for IPF discharges beginning October 1, 2022 - September 30, 2023. This rule is effective October 1, 2022.
Source: Federal Register