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Rural Health
News by Topic: Policy

Sep 24, 2026 - The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announces the extension of funds for certain health centers to avoid a gap in services while HRSA awards funds through the fiscal year 2027 Service Area Competition. Health centers with a current period of performance of January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2026, or February 1, 2023, through January 31, 2027, will receive an extension of funds through June 30, 2027. Health centers with a current period of performance of March 1, 2023, through February 28, 2027, will receive an extension with funds through July 31, 2027.
Source: Federal Register
Sep 23, 2026 - Executive Order from the Office of the President regarding the H-1B program. Among other things, this Executive Order directs the Secretary of State, Secretary of Labor, and Secretary of Homeland Security to coordinate and consult with the Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Education, and Administrator of the Small Business Administration to ensure the compliance of H-1B petitions and visas with regulatory requirements.
Source: Federal Register
Sep 23, 2026 - Notice of interim final rule with comment period from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) codifying its authority to impose a temporary moratorium pausing the registration of agents and brokers that do not have a current Plan Year registration with the Federally-facilitated exchanges. Specifically, this notice announces that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is imposing a temporary moratorium to pause the registration of agents and brokers that do not have Plan Year 2026 Exchange agreements with the Federally-facilitated exchanges and are seeking to enter into agreements with CMS to assist consumers with enrollment through the Federally-facilitated exchanges for Plan Year 2027. This moratorium does not affect registrations on the state-based exchanges. The moratorium is effective September 22, 2026, until February 1, 2027, unless it is modified by CMS in a subsequent Federal Register notice. This interim final rule is effective September 22, 2026. Comments are due by November 21, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Sep 23, 2026 - Offers an interview with the Executive Director of the Michigan Association of Ambulance Services discussing emergency medical services (EMS) workforce challenges in rural Michigan.
Source: EMS World
Sep 22, 2026 - Notice from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) seeking comments on a generic information collection umbrella titled "Generic Information Collection Request for Collections Related to HRSA Hotlines, Chatlines, and Online Portals, OMB No. 0906-New." Information collected will be used to ensure that HRSA hotlines, chatlines, and online portals are operating to the best of their abilities. Comments are due by October 22, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Sep 22, 2026 - Notice from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) seeking comments on an information collection request titled "Questionnaire and Data Collection Testing, Evaluation, and Research for HRSA." Information collected will be used to inform the development of new questions, questionnaires, and tools; pilot/pre-test instruments under development; and identify problems in instruments currently in use. Comments are due by October 22, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Sep 21, 2026 - Notice from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) extending the solicitation period for nominations for the National Vaccine Advisory Committee. Nominations are due 30 days from publication of this notice.
Source: Federal Register
Sep 18, 2026 - Notice from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) announcing changes to the TRICARE program benefits for calendar year 2027. Outlines annual changes, new and expanded benefits, demonstration programs, pharmacy out-of-pocket expenses for CY 2027, and more. This TRICARE Health Plan information is applicable to services beginning January 1, 2027.
Source: Federal Register
Sep 18, 2026 - Announces a new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) policy creating the HHS Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Forecast. The Forecast will aid manufacturers in understanding PPE needs and will be updated and published quarterly.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Sep 17, 2026 - Notice from the U.S. Census Bureau seeking comments on Current Population Survey (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) field tests related to self-response. The 2027 Field Test will be the first time that the ASEC supplement will be administered as a self-response mode, and will evaluate the comparability of computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) questions to internet self-response (ISR) questions and the impact of changing question wording and response categories. Comments are due by November 16, 2026.
Source: Federal Register