Rural Health
News by Topic: Healthcare needs and services
Aug 31, 2026 - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid have recalculated the fiscal year 2027 hospice wage index values for all CBSAs and rural areas. A correction notice with updated rates will be posted on the FY 2027 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update and Hospice Quality Reporting Program Requirements webpage.
Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Aug 28, 2026 - The University of Northern Colorado's College of Osteopathic Medicine opened in July with its first class of 81 students. The new school will help address the physician shortage in Colorado, where 54 of its 64 counties have Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas, and 31.2% of physicians are of retirement age.
Source: Colorado Politics
Aug 28, 2026 - Announces a new suicide prevention campaign in Oklahoma designed to reach certain groups with high rates of suicide including rural residents, tribal residents, older adults, veterans, and middle-aged men.
Source: Fox 23
Aug 28, 2026 - Various Virginia community-based organizations are among the first wave of grantees who will use Rural Health Transformation Fund (RHTF) money to hire and retain rural healthcare providers, invest in healthcare technologies, and strengthen the healthcare workforce in rural areas. Virginia received a total $189 million in RHTF money late last year.
Source: Virginia Mercury
Aug 27, 2026 - Highlights Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) funding in Ohio to connect pharmacies, Federally Qualified Health Centers, health systems, and other partners across the state through a health information exchange. The goal is to build a rural pharmacy network, expand clinical services in pharmacies, and conduct a pharmacy needs assessment across the state.
Source: Ohio Pharmacists Association
Aug 27, 2026 - Authors of a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association found that rural residents and dual-eligible patients had less access to home health rehabilitation services within 48 hours of discharge from the hospital. Results were based on data from Medicare and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries 65 and older who received home healthcare services after hip or knee replacement surgery between 2021-2023.
Source: McKnight's Long-Term Care News
Aug 27, 2026 - Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) funding of $55.7 million through the Telehealth, Health-Monitoring, and Response Innovation for Vital Expansion initiative and $93.6 million through the Promoting Access Coordination and Transformation priority. Arkansas is expected to receive approximately $1 billion in RHTP funding in the next five years.
Source: Office of Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders
Aug 26, 2026 - Discusses the use of texting services for mental health support in rural Mississippi following a report showing the state has the 3rd highest rate of rural users in the nation. Notes that texting services can increase access to mental healthcare and provide anonymity for rural residents.
Source: Mississippi Today
Aug 24, 2026 - Describes challenges in emergency medicine services (EMS) delivery in Colorado and how EMS agencies across the state are supported. Discusses long response times, mobile training methods, community outreach and volunteers, and rural blood shortages.
Source: University of Colorado Anschutz Health Science
HHS: Request for Information: Categories Used in Federal Vaccine Recommendations and the Role of Shared Clinical Decision-Making
Federal Register
Aug 24, 2026 - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is seeking comments on the adequacy of the categories currently used in federal vaccine recommendations: routine (universal) recommendations, risk-based recommendations, and recommendations based on shared clinical decision-making. HHS also seeks comments on the considerations that should be relied upon in setting vaccine recommendations. Comments are due by September 20, 2026.
Source: Federal Register