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Rural Health Information Hub

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Rural Health
News by Topic: Healthcare facilities

Oct 20, 2021 - Notice from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services making technical and typographical corrections to the August 13, 2021, final rule. Corrections are effective October 19, 2021.
Source: Federal Register
Oct 19, 2021 - Describes a study of family physicians in rural maternity care that found that in 185 rural hospitals in 10 states, 67% had family physicians deliver babies and in 27% of the hospitals they were the only physicians who delivered babies. Discusses issues of access to maternal care if family physicians leave or are not employed at rural hospitals, highlighting the need for specialized training programs to support the rural workforce.
Source: Medical Xpress
Oct 15, 2021 - Notice from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of receipt of an application for continued recognition of the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities (AAAASF) as a national accrediting organization for Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) that wish to participate in the Medicare or Medicaid programs. Comments are due by November 15, 2021.
Source: Federal Register
Oct 15, 2021 - Notice from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS), Rural Housing Service (RHS), and Rural Utilities Service (RUS) to provide application requirements for funding reserved under the Strategic Economic and Community Development (SECD) priority program. USDA is implementing SECD in fiscal year 2021 through reserving funds from the covered program and is giving priority to projects assisting rural communities recover economically from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly disadvantaged communities; ensuring all rural residents have equitable access to USDA-Rural Development programs and benefits from Rural Development funded projects; and reducing climate pollution and increasing resilience to the impacts of climate change through economic support to rural communities.
Source: Federal Register
Oct 14, 2021 - The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is seeking comment on the following information collections: 1) Independent Rural Health Clinic Cost Report; 2) Bid Pricing Tool (BPT) for Medicare Advantage (MA) Plans and Prescription Drug Plans (PDP); and 3) Implementation of Medicare and Medicaid Programs;—Promoting Interoperability Programs (Stage 3) (CMS-10552). Comments are due by December 13, 2021.
Source: Federal Register
Oct 13, 2021 - Video report on nursing shortages and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on those shortages, focusing on the rural Hendry Regional Medical Center in Clewiston, Florida. Offers perspectives of nurses and emergency department leadership, and addresses burnout related to COVID-19 patient care and the role of traveling nurses in filling staffing needs.
Source: PBS News Hour
Oct 12, 2021 - Describes the DATA 2000 Waiver Training Payment Program, which is open to applications from Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) that employ buprenorphine-waivered providers, funded through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Oct 7, 2021 - Notice from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking comment on revised draft guidance that, when finalized, will describe how FDA intends to apply certain provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) to human drug products compounded by State-licensed pharmacies that are not outsourcing facilities and distributed for use within a hospital or health system. The draft guidance addresses the requirement that compounding be based on the receipt of a valid prescription order for an identified individual patient and the provision concerning compounded drug products that are essentially copies of a commercially available drug product. Comments are due by December 6, 2021.
Source: Federal Register
Oct 7, 2021 - Notice of final rule from Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) revising regulations that govern the Title X family planning program. This final rule will revoke requirements of the 2019 regulations and makes revisions to previous regulations to increase access to family planning services. This notice also summarizes and responds to comments received on the noticed of proposed rulemaking addressing the effects of these regulations, including their impact on rural communities. This rule is effective November 8, 2021.
Source: Federal Register
Oct 7, 2021 - Pre-publication notice of interim final rule from the Office of Personnel Management, Internal Revenue Service, Employee Benefits Security Administration, and Department of Health and Human Services implementing provisions of the No Surprises Act that provide for a federal independent dispute resolution (IDR) (Federal IDR) process to permit group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage and nonparticipating providers, facilities, and providers of air ambulance services to determine the out-of-network rate for items and services that are emergency services, nonemergency services furnished by nonparticipating providers at participating facilities, and air ambulance services furnished by nonparticipating providers of air ambulance services, under certain circumstances. These regulations are applicable January 1, 2022. These regulations are effective October 7, 2021. Comments are due by December 6, 2021.
Source: Federal Register