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Rural Health
News by Topic: Legislation and regulations

Jul 31, 2026 - Notice of final rule from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) amending the following to eliminate unnecessary or obsolete regulations: 1) Grants to States for Public Assistance Programs, 2) General Administration—State Plans and Grant Appeals, 3) General Administration—Public Assistance Programs, 4) Training and Use of Subprofessionals and Volunteers, 5) Coverage and Conditions of Eligibility in Financial Assistance Programs, 6) Financial Assistance to Individuals, 7) Administration of Financial Assistance Programs, 8) Fiscal Administration of Financial Assistance Programs, 9) General Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Provisions, 10) Ensuring That Recipients Work, 11) the Accountability Provisions—General, 12) Expenditures of State and Federal TANF Funds, 13) Other Accountability Provisions, 14) Data Collection and Reporting Requirements, 15) High Performance Bonus Awards, 16) the Implementation of Section 403(a)(2) of the Social Security Act Bonus to Reward Decrease in Illegitimacy Ratio, 17) Methodology for Determining Whether an Increase in a State or Territory's Child Poverty Rate Is the Result of the TANF Program, 18) Tribal TANF Provisions, and 19) The Native Employment Works (NEW) Program. This rule is effective September 29, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Jul 31, 2026 - Notice of final 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 also refines the IPF PPS outlier policy, implements a standardized IPF patient assessment, and removes two measures used in the IPF Quality Reporting Program. These regulations are effective October 1, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Jul 31, 2026 - Notice of final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updating the skilled nursing facility (SNF) prospective payment system (PPS) payment rates for fiscal year 2027. This rule also updates the requirements for the SNF Quality Reporting Program and the SNF Value-Based Purchasing Program. These regulations are effective October 1, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Jul 31, 2026 - Announces the revised 340B Rebate Model Pilot Program to use a claims-based rebate approach. Eligible manufacturers must submit rebate plans by August 24, 2026 for pricing periods effective January 1, 2027.
Source: Health Resources & Services Administration
Jul 30, 2026 - Announces a virtual public meeting of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Classifications and Public Health Data Standards, ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance (C&M) Committee to be held on September 15-16, 2026. The agenda includes a discussion of ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS topics, a list of which is provided in the notice. Registration is required.
Source: Federal Register
Jul 30, 2026 - Pre-publication notice of a final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updating the hospice wage index, payment rates, and aggregate cap amount for fiscal year 2027. Among other things, this rule finalizes conforming regulation text changes to discharge from hospice care regulations and the face-to-face encounter regulations. This rule also summarizes comments received in response to requests for information regarding community-based palliative care; the construction of a hospice-specific wage index; and the overlap between hospice and medical aid in dying laws. These regulations are effective October 1, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Jul 30, 2026 - Pre-publication notice of a final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updating the prospective payment system (PPS) rates for inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) for fiscal year 2027. Among other things, this rule includes classification and weighting factors for the IRF prospective payment system's case-mix groups, finalizes the third and final year of the 3-year phase-out of the rural adjustments, and updates the IRF Quality Reporting Program and changes to the Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) Competitive Bidding Program. This rule also summarizes comments received in response to requests for information regarding alternative data sources for the IRF PPS wage index and potential future IRF PPS payment reform. These regulations are effective October 1, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Jul 28, 2026 - Announces new proposed legislation that would offer federal funding to incentivize interstate mental healthcare through telehealth with the goal of increasing access to care for rural communities.
Source: Office of Senator Angus King
Jul 27, 2026 - Announces new proposed bipartisan legislation to protect rural hospitals from cyberattacks. The bill includes cybersecurity workforce development strategies, training for rural hospital staffs, and regular updates to Congress on implementation.
Source: Office of Representative Glenn Thompson
Jul 23, 2026 - Notice of a proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposing the revision of standards for determining whether an indirect hold harmless arrangement exists for a healthcare-related tax. Also proposes sunsetting a secondary prong to the indirect hold harmless determination to ensure the thresholds determined as of July 4, 2025, serve as the maximum permissible level and adding a new permissible class to enhance CMS oversight of healthcare-related taxes. Comments are due by September 21, 2026.
Source: Federal Register