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Rural Health Information Hub
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
News by Topic: Healthcare needs and services

Apr 8, 2024 - Highlights a new mobile medical unit expanding mental healthcare access for veterans in Montana and Wyoming. The unit is the first offering transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) therapy, a treatment typically given daily for multiple days. Receiving treatment through the mobile unit reduces transportation barriers for rural and frontier veterans.
Source: VA News
Apr 5, 2024 - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is seeking comments on the following information collections: 1) Outcome and Assessment Information Set OASIS-E1; 2) Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D, and Medicare Fee-For-Service Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Survey; 3) Application for Part A (Hospital Insurance) and Part B (Medical Insurance) for People with End-Stage Renal Disease; and 4) End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Annual Home Dialysis within Nursing Home Survey Form. Comments are due by June 4, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
Apr 5, 2024 - Discusses challenges with offering ambulance services in rural Minnesota including reimbursement and funding models, a volunteer workforce, and large service areas.
Source: MPR News
Apr 4, 2024 - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is seeking comments on the following information collections: 1) Application for Enrollment in Medicare Part A Internet Claim (iClaim) Application Screen Modernized Claims System and Consolidated Claim Experience Screens and 2) CAHPS Hospice Survey. Comments are due by June 3, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
Apr 4, 2024 - Notice of a proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updating the hospice wage index, payment rates, and aggregate cap amount for fiscal year 2025. Includes proposals regarding changes to the Hospice Quality Reporting Program; the adoption of the most recent Office of Management and Budget statistical area delineations, which would change the hospice wage index; clarifications to current policy related to the "election statement" and the "notice of election;" and clarifying language regarding hospice certification. Among other things, this rule seeks comments regarding the potential implementation of a separate payment mechanism to account for high-intensity palliative care services. Includes rural considerations throughout. Comments are due by May 28, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
Apr 4, 2024 - Highlights a project to give remote homes on a Navajo Nation reservation in Utah accurate addresses. Discusses the benefits of accurate addressing for emergency response teams and for receiving in-home medical care in addition to other benefits.
Source: The Daily Yonder
Apr 3, 2024 - Notice of proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updating the FY 2025 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. Includes proposed revisions to the patient-level adjustment factors, the Emergency Department adjustment, and the payment amount for electroconvulsive therapy; and seeks to adopt a new quality measure and modify reporting requirements under the IPF Quality Reporting Program beginning with the FY 2027 payment determination. Seeks comments regarding potential future revisions to the IPF prospective payment system (PPS) facility-level adjustments and the development of a standardized IPF Patient Assessment Instrument. Comments are due by May 28, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
Apr 3, 2024 - 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 2025. Includes proposals to rebase and revise the SNF market basket to reflect a 2022 base year; update the wage index used under the SNF PPS to reflect data collected during the most recent decennial census; technical revisions to the code mappings used to classify patients under the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) to improve payment and coding accuracy; and update the requirements for the SNF Quality Reporting Program and the SNF Value-Based Purchasing Program. Among other things, this rule also includes proposals to strengthen nursing home enforcement requirements. Comments are due by May 28, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
Apr 3, 2024 - Announces proposed bipartisan legislation, the Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act, to increase preparedness for rural hospitals and doctors in emergency obstetric care. The legislation would create training programs, offer grants, and develop pilot telehealth services. Also describes other healthcare related legislation.
Source: Office of Senator Katie Britt
Apr 3, 2024 - Highlights the challenges with access mental healthcare in rural communities. Describes a rural Tennessee program aiming to connect people with mental health needs in jails with local resources, noting that hospital closures limits healthcare options. Discusses mental health and other re-entry services offered after successful grant funding to fill gaps in care.
Source: NewsChannel 5