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Rural Health Information Hub
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
News by Topic: Hospitals

May 6, 2026 - Lackey Memorial Hospital in Scott County, Mississippi will soon apply for Rural Health Transformation Program funds, to modernize technology in medical record keeping and surgical operations. The state has received almost $206 million for the first year of the program.
Source: WLBT
May 4, 2026 - Several Oklahoma rural hospitals have created or expanded swing bed programs, which allow hospitals to use inpatient beds for post-acute care. The additional revenue stream helps facilities remain viable and avoid closure, and allows patients to receive follow-up care locally.
Source: Oklahoma Watch
Apr 30, 2026 - Announces proposed bipartisan legislation to extend the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration program 5 more years. RCHD allows for innovative hospital payment model testing under Medicare to maintain healthcare access for rural communities.
Source: Office of Senator Chuck Grassley
Apr 23, 2026 - Announces the National Rural Health Association's top 20 Critical Access Hospitals as well as 40 hospitals receiving best practice designations for either quality of care or patient perspective of hospital performance. Award winners will be recognized at the NRHA Critical Access Hospital Conference in September.
Source: National Rural Health Association
Apr 20, 2026 - Notice from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) seeking comments on a proposed information collection titled "Submissions of Acute Hospital Care at Home (AHCAH) Waiver Submission and Data Collection." The AHCAH initiative was codified in the Consolidate Appropriations Act, 2025. As a result, the AHCAH information collection request is being separated from the 1135 waiver information collection request. Comments are due by June 22, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
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 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 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 6, 2026 - Notice of a proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) seeking comments on updates to the prospective payment system (PPS) for inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) for fiscal year 2027. Among other things, this rule proposes classification and weighting factors for the IRF prospective payment system's case-mix groups, continues the third year of the 3-year phase-out of the rural adjustments, and includes proposals for the IRF Quality Reporting Program. CMS also seeks comments on alternative data sources for the IRF PPS wage index, potential future IRF PPS payment reform, and more. Comments are due June 1, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Apr 6, 2026 - Notice from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announcing the forthcoming release of the following public data assets in open, machine-readable formats under an open license, with utilization and payment data aggregated by provider and service: Original Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners; Original Medicare Inpatient Hospitals; Original Medicare Outpatient Hospitals; Medicare Part D Prescribers; Original Medicare Durable Medical Equipment, Devices and Supplies (DMEPOS) by referring provider and service; DMEPOS by supplier and service; and Medicaid Provider Spending.
Source: Federal Register