Rural Health & Human Services News by Topic: Hospitals - Rural Health Information Hub

What Does It Take to Restore Rural Maternity Care? One NC Hospital Shows a Way.

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Profiles a labor and delivery department in a rural North Carolina Critical Access Hospital. Maternity services were re-started in 2020 using family physicians after closing the department in 1991. Describes maternity care access across North Carolina, challenges with sustaining the service for rural communities, and how they can be a model to other rural communities.

Building Health Care Between the 4 Mountains: New Navajo Nation Medical Center Faces Hurdles

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Describes challenges around building a new hospital on Navajo Nation. Discusses working within multiple levels of governments, funding, incorporating traditional medicine and facilities, and attracting workforce.

Teleoncology Program Improves Rural Access to Medical Help

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Describes a teleoncology program in a rural Idaho hospital. The program allows cancer patients to meet with specialists through telehealth while using local facilities for lab work and treatment.

HRSA Reaffirms Commitment to Rural America During the National Rural Health Association Policy Institute

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Summarizes remarks from Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) and the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) administrators at the 2026 National Rural Health Association Policy Institute. Discusses workforce, healthcare delivery, administration priorities, the Rural Health Transformation Program, and more.

Thompson, Tokuda, Alford, and Cuellar Lead Effort to Help Protect Critical Access Hospitals

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Announces a bipartisan bill that would create a new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) hospital designation called an "In Character" Critical Access Hospital. The new designation would ensure hospitals already designated as CAHs do not lose their designation and directs the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide administration for the designation.

USDA Celebrates Opening of New Critical Access Hospital in Harlowton

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Discusses the opening of a new Critical Access Hospital in Montana. Highlights the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other funding that made the new facility possible.

CMS: Medicare Program; Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems; Quality Reporting Programs; Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating; Hospital Price Transparency; and Notice of Closure of a Teaching Hospital and Opportunity To Apply for Available Slots; Correction

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Notice from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) making technical corrections to the November 25, 2025, final rule. This correction is applicable January 1, 2026.

CMS: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0600

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is seeking comments on the following information collections: 1) Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Program; 2) National Implementation of the Outpatient and Ambulatory Surgery Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (OAS CAHPS); and 3) Elimination of Cost-Sharing for Full Benefit Dual-Eligible Individuals Receiving Home and Community-Based Services. Comments are due by March 16, 2026.

CMS: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0600

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is seeking comments on the following information collections: 1) Emergency and Foreign Hospital Services and Supporting Regulation in 42 CFR 424.103; 2) Consumer Experience Survey Data Collection; 3) Summary of Benefits and Coverage and Uniform Glossary; and 4) Transformed—Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS). Comments are due by April 14, 2026.

Mississippi Senate Pushes to Let Rural Hospitals Offer New Services

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Highlights policy efforts in the Mississippi legislature aiming to support rural hospitals in creating new revenue streams through new services. The proposed legislation amends certificate of need regulations in the state.

Salinas, Moolenaar, Tokuda, Moylan Lead Bipartisan Effort To Save Rural Hospitals And Clinics

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Congressional representatives Andrea Salinas (OR), John Moolenaar (MI), Jill Tokuda (HI), and James Moylan (Guam) have introduced the Rural Health Care Facilities Revitalization Act, a bill to strengthen the nation's rural healthcare infrastructure and ease financial pressures faced by rural hospitals. The bill authorizes rural health facilities to use Community Facility Loans or loan guarantees from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to refinance debt, update technology, and support operating expenses to ensure financial stability.

Rural Cancer Patients Benefit From Local Surgical Care

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0600

An analysis published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons found that rural adults with colon or lung cancer who had surgery for cancer closer to their homes had similar outcomes to those who went to more distant urban facilities. The study provides preliminary evidence that complex surgery for some cancers can be performed and with good results at smaller community hospitals.

Chartis Announces Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals and Top 100 Rural & Community Hospitals for 2026

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Chartis Center for Rural Health has announced results of its annual awards program, based on data from the Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX. The program recognizes outstanding performance among rural hospitals.

Financial Fix, Quality Flaw: Lessons From Pennsylvania's Rural Health Model

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0600

An evaluation of the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model, describing changes intended to improve care quality, increase access to preventive services, and address local community health needs.

Alabama Rural Hospital Program Hits $20 Million Cap, Association Seeks Increase

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0600

The Alabama Rural Hospital Investment Program, approved during the 2024 legislative session, reached its tax credit cap in just one month. The program encourages donations through tax credits, and officials from the Alabama Rural Hospital Association hope the cap can be increased, so that more hospitals can benefit from the program.

CMS: Medicare Program; Ensuring Safety Through Domestic Security With Made in America Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Essential Medicine Procurement by Medicare Participating Hospitals

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Notice of proposed rulemaking from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) seeking comments on potential options for Medicare participating hospitals to help foster a more resilient supply chain for American-made personal protective equipment and essential medicines, as well as a possible new "Secure American Medical Supplies" friendly designation that could be earned by hospitals. Among other things, this notice also seeks input on a potential new structural quality measure as part of the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Program that could promote hospital commitments to invest in domestic procurement. Comments are due by March 30, 2026.

CDC: Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork Reduction Act Review

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0600

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is allowing an additional 30 days for comments on a proposed information collection project titled "Assessment and Monitoring of Breastfeeding-Related Maternity Care in Intrapartum Care Facilities in the United States and Territories." The Maternity Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care (mPINC) survey is a census of maternity care hospitals in the United States and territories to better understand national breastfeeding supportive maternity practices and changes in these practices over time. Information collected will be used to identify, document, and share information related to changes in practices processes over time at the hospital, state, regional, and national levels. Comments are due within 30 days of this notice.