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Rural Health
News by Topic: Healthcare facilities

Apr 16, 2026 - Notice from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) making technical corrections to the April 14, 2026, proposed rule. Comments on the proposed rule are due by June 9, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Apr 14, 2026 - Notice of proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) proposing to improve the electronic exchange of healthcare data and streamline processes related to prior authorization by increasing the interoperability of systems used across the healthcare industry. Among other things, this rule proposes new requirements for Medicare Advantage (MA) organizations, state Medicaid fee-for-service (FFS) programs, state Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) FFS programs, Medicaid managed care plans, CHIP managed care entities, and Qualified Health Plan (QHP) issuers on the Federally-facilitated Exchanges (FFEs) to make electronic prior authorization for drugs available; to report their application programming interfaces (API) endpoints and related information for the Patient Access, Provider Directory, Provider Access, Payer-to-Payer, and Prior Authorization APIs to CMS; and extend many existing interoperability requirements for the prior authorization of non-drug items and services to include prior authorizations for drugs. In addition, ONC proposes adopting updated versions of certain health information technology (health IT) standards and specifications for HHS use. Comments are due by June 15, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Apr 14, 2026 - Notice of a proposed 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 2027. Contains details of proposed changes related to Medicare graduate medical education (GME) for teaching hospitals; payment policies and the annual payment rates for the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS) for inpatient hospital services provided by long-term care hospitals; and certain quality programs, among other things. Comments are due by April 10, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Apr 14, 2026 - Google.org and the Johnson & Johnson Foundation are investing $10 million into training rural healthcare workers to use AI-powered tools. The initiative is intended to automate scheduling, streamline patient documentation, and make clinic operations more efficient, in facilities that are struggling with workforce shortages and administrative overload.
Source: The Tech Buzz
Apr 10, 2026 - Notice from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) seeking comments on a proposed information collection titled "Self-Attestation for Recertification of CORFs, OPT/SLP, and RHCs Providers and PXR Suppliers." The information collected will be used as part of a new program to allow Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Facility (CORFs), Outpatient Physical Therapy/Speech Language Pathology (OPT/SLP), Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) Providers, and Portable X-Ray (PXR) Suppliers to attest to meeting the applicable CMS Conditions of Participation in lieu of undergoing a recertification survey by state survey agencies every six years. Comments are due by June 9, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Apr 9, 2026 - Announcement from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of receipt of an application from DNV Healthcare Inc. for continued recognition as a national accrediting organization for hospitals that wish to participate in the Medicare or Medicaid programs. Comments are due by May 11, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Apr 9, 2026 - Notice from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announcing a one-year funding extension for recipients of grants through the fiscal year 2022 Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Program and the fiscal year 2023 Delta States Network Development Program. Funding for both cohorts is extended from August 1, 2026, through July 31, 2027.
Source: Federal Register
Apr 9, 2026 - Describes cardiovascular health disparities in rural Oklahoma, driven in part by limited access to healthcare facilities, specialists, and transportation.
Source: KOKH
Apr 7, 2026 - Notice of a proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that would update the skilled nursing facility (SNF) prospective payment system (PPS) payment rates for fiscal year 2027. Among other things, this rule includes proposals to update the requirements for the SNF Quality Reporting Program and the SNF Value-Based Purchasing Program. Comments are due by June 1, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Apr 7, 2026 - Notice of a proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updating the FY 2027 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. Among other things, this rule proposes refinement of the IPF PPS outlier policy, implementation of a standardized IPF patient assessment, and the removal of two measures used in the IPF Quality Reporting Program. Comments are due by June 1, 2026.
Source: Federal Register