RHIhub This Week - November 26, 2025
As an information clearinghouse on rural health issues, RHIhub provides access to a wide range of resources on relevant topics. Inclusion on RHIhub does not imply endorsement of, or agreement with, the contents by RHIhub or the Health Resources and Services Administration.
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Nov 22, 2025 -- Describes challenges with sustaining emergency medical services in rural Wyoming, discussing a shortage of volunteers, limited funding, and responding during poor weather. Source: Cowboy State Daily Rural Health at Larner: A New Model for Kids with Complex Needs Nov 21, 2025 -- Profiles a rural Vermont medically complex child to highlight challenges in accessing specialty care for rural residents. Describes the emergency care action plan created by her medical team that allows her to continue living safely in her rural community. Source: Larner News and Media A Montana Hospital is Training Future Rural Providers Nov 20, 2025 -- Discusses health disparities among rural healthcare provider shortages nationally and in Montana. Highlights 2 residency programs in Billings, Montana aiming to address the shortages of internal medicine and psychiatry providers. Describes how rural practice is integrated into the residencies as well as the benefits for both physician residents and rural communities. Source: The Daily Yonder Celebrating National Rural Health Day Nov 20, 2025 -- National Rural Health Day, a day to recognize the efforts of rural community members, healthcare providers, and other rural stakeholders, is being celebrated on November 20, 2025. Includes a collection of stories from around the country recognizing and celebrating National Rural Health Day. Update: FY2026 Telecom Program Rural Rates Nov 19, 2025 -- The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has waived a rule regarding rural rates for applicants of the Telecommunications Program of the Rural Health Care (RHC) Program for funding year 2026. Offers guidance on calculating rates. Source: Universal Service Administrative Co. Federal RegisterPublic Inspection: CMS: Medicare Program: Contract Year 2027 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage Program, Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program, and Medicare Cost Plan ProgramNov 26, 2025 -- Pre-publication notice of a proposed rule from the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that would revise the Medicare Advantage (Part C), Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit (Part D), and Medicare cost plan regulations. Proposed revisions would implement changes related to Star Ratings, marketing and communications, drug coverage, enrollment processes, special needs plans, and other programmatic areas for contract year 2027. Among other things, this proposed rule also includes a request for information regarding changes to the Medicare Advantage (MA) that would modernize and improve the MA program and could be implemented through either programmatic changes or through a CMS Innovation Center (CMMI) model. Comments are due by January 26, 2026. Source: Federal Register 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 Nov 25, 2025 -- Notice of final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) making changes to the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and the Medicare Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) payment system for calendar year 2026, including changes to the amounts and factors used to determine the payment rates for Medicare services paid under the OPPS and those paid under the ASC payment systems. Among other things, this rule also updates the requirements for the Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting Program, Rural Emergency Hospital Quality Reporting Program, Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality Reporting Program, Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating, and hospitals to make public their standard charge information and enforcement of hospital price transparency. This rule also announces the closure of a teaching hospital and the opportunity to apply for available slots. This rule is effective January 1, 2026. Applications for available resident spots are due by February 19, 2026. Source: Federal Register |
Funding for pilot projects that impact emergency care research and are intended for a broad audience, including both clinical, translational, and basic science researchers. Geographic coverage: Nationwide Application Deadline: Dec 12, 2025 Sponsor: Emergency Medicine Foundation Brownfield Assessment Grants Grants for assessing, prioritizing, and planning for the cleanup and redevelopment of brownfield sites that are complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. The program has a focus on areas historically affected by economic disinvestment, health disparities, and environmental contamination. Geographic coverage: Nationwide Application Deadline: Jan 28, 2026 Sponsor: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Brownfield Cleanup Grants Grants to carry out cleanup activities at specific brownfield sites, resulting in better community environmental health. The program has a focus on areas historically affected by economic disinvestment, health disparities, and environmental contamination. Geographic coverage: Nationwide Application Deadline: Jan 28, 2026 Sponsor: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Multipurpose Grants Grants to carry out a range of eligible assessment and cleanup activities within a proposed target area, such as a neighborhood, a number of neighboring towns, a district, a corridor, a shared planning area or a census tract. Funds must be used for environmental site assessments, brownfields site cleanup, and the development of a plan for the revitalization of one or more brownfields site. Geographic coverage: Nationwide Application Deadline: Jan 28, 2026 Sponsor: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency American Hospital Association Next Generation Leaders Fellowship A fellowship program designed to empower healthcare leaders to bring about lasting change in the hospital and health systems in which they serve. Rural applicants are encouraged. Geographic coverage: Nationwide Application Deadline: Mar 31, 2026 Sponsor: American Hospital Association NLM Information Resource Grants to Reduce Health Disparities and Promote Health for All (G08 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Funding for projects that use information technology to improve the organization and management of health-related information for consumers and their healthcare providers experiencing health disparities. Geographic coverage: Nationwide and U.S. territories Letter of Intent (Optional): Apr 24, 2026 Application Deadline: May 25, 2026 Sponsors: National Institutes of Health, Office of Research on Women's Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. National Library of Medicine Affordable Housing Loans for Low-Income Rural Communities Short-term loans at below market interest rates to local nonprofits, for-profits, and government entities that are working to develop affordable housing for low-income, rural communities. Geographic coverage: Nationwide Applications accepted on an ongoing basis Sponsor: Housing Assistance Council Business and Industry Loan Guarantees Loan guarantees to improve, develop, or finance business, industry, and employment and improve economies in rural communities. Geographic coverage: Nationwide Applications accepted on an ongoing basis Sponsors: U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA Rural Development Farmers' Mental Health: Supporting and Understanding Farm Culture and Farm Family Dynamics A self-paced, online training course designed to help behavioral health providers better understand and address the mental health needs and challenges of farmers and their family members. Geographic coverage: Nationwide Applications accepted on an ongoing basis Sponsor: University of Wisconsin - Green Bay, Behavioral Health Training Partnership, Wisconsin Farm Center Google's Rural Healthcare Cybersecurity Initiative Offers eligible rural healthcare organizations access to technology, consulting and support services, and security training resources at a discount or no cost for the purpose of strengthening resilience to cyberattacks. Geographic coverage: Nationwide Applications accepted on an ongoing basis Sponsors: Google, Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center NRHA Rural Hospital Board of Trustees Certification Program A certification program for rural hospital Board Trustees. Geographic coverage: Nationwide Applications accepted on an ongoing basis Sponsor: National Rural Health Association PCORI Ambassador Program A national volunteer network designed to engage the healthcare community in strengthening the patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) and increasing the dissemination of PCORI-funded research. PCORI supports research to give patients a better understanding of the prevention, treatment and care options available while considering potential for differences in treatment effectiveness among subpopulations, such as rural residents. Geographic coverage: Nationwide Applications accepted on an ongoing basis Sponsor: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute |
Statistical brief examining rates of prescription benzodiazepine use by demographic group, insurance type, and health status, using 2021-2022 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component (MEPS-HC) data. See Figure 6 for metro-nonmetro comparison data on benzodiazepine use and concurrent benzodiazepine-opioid use. Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Date: 10/2025 Characteristics of Critical Access Hospitals with High Financial and Quality Metric Performance Examines Critical Access Hospital (CAH) financial and quality performance utilizing Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP) data. Provides characteristics of CAHs and their respective measures according to 5 financial and 5 quality benchmarks. Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team Date: 11/2025 Connected and Protected: The Power of Rural Cybersecurity A recorded webinar focused on cybersecurity in rural communities. Discusses strategies and programs that help to innovate and strengthen rural cybersecurity. Transcript available below description. Sponsoring organization: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health Date: 11/2025 Examining Rural Disparities in Cigarette Smoking Among U.S. Women by Chronological Age: 2002–2022 Presents a study on rural disparities in rates of cigarette smoking among women from 2002 to 2022. Draws data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health and examines correlative factors, such as age, educational attainment, and income, among others. Author(s): Stephen T. Higgins, Tyler G. Erath, Fang Fang Chen, Michael J. DeSarno Location: Preventive Medicine, 201, 108359 Date: 12/2025 Facilitators of Strong Quality and Financial Outcomes in Critical Access Hospitals Examines leadership traits, management strategies, and other governance and collaboration-based supports for positive quality and financial outcomes in Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), utilizing insights from interviews of leaders at 10 CAHs which met high financial and quality benchmarks. Provides interview excerpts and identifies themes. Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team Date: 11/2025 Family Physician Workforce Trends: The Toll on Rural Communities Analyzes distribution of family physicians between 2017 and 2023 to identify trends in practice location. Includes analysis of physician demographic characteristics, rurality, and region. Discusses the impact of a reduction in the family physician workforce on rural communities. Author(s): Colleen T. Fogarty, Hoon Byun, Alison N. Huffstetler Location: The Annals of Family Medicine, 26(6), 535-538 Date: 11/2025 Fiscal Year 2025 Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Investments: Fact Sheet Provides an overview of Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) grant programs in Fiscal Year 2025. Summarizes and briefly describes funding awarded to address rural behavioral health, expand the rural health workforce, increase access to care, advance maternal health, support rural health research and information dissemination, and support rural hospitals. Sponsoring organization: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Date: 11/2025 HRSA HIV/AIDS Bureau: Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. Initiative Data Report 2023 Reports on the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program's Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. (EHE) initiative, which supports expanded programs and services to people who are not receiving regular HIV care or are unaware of their HIV status. Covers program activities, services funded, program administration, and populations served. Discusses providers, programs, and factors influencing access to care in rural areas. Sponsoring organization: HRSA HIV/AIDS Bureau Date: 11/2025 Local Availability of Neonatal Intensive Care at Rural Hospitals with Childbirth Services Discusses hospital and county characteristics for 89 rural hospitals offering childbirth services in 2021 based on proximity to neonatal intensive care units (NICU). Includes comparisons of characteristics for those hospitals more than and less than 30 miles from a NICU. Author(s): Emily C. Sheffield, Clara E. Busse, Julia D. Interrante, Sara C. Handley, Katy Backes Kozhimannil Location: Journal of Perinatology, 2025 Date: 11/2025 MDT Guide and Toolkit: Developing an Elder Abuse Case Review Multidisciplinary Team in Your Community Resource for communities developing elder abuse case review multidisciplinary teams (MDTs). Discusses community needs, developing the team, best practices, and more. Includes rural-specific concerns and resources. Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Justice Date: 2025 National Rural Health Day 2025 Community Stars Collection of stories about individuals and organizations across the U.S. that have made positive differences in the health of the rural communities they serve through innovation, leadership, commitment, collaboration, education, and communication. Sponsoring organization: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health Date: 2025 A New Rural Blueprint: Strategic Partnerships That Keep Care Local Discusses the Wisconsin High Value Network (WHVN), a clinically integrated network (CIN) focused on value-based care arrangements, data sharing, and quality improvement initiatives. Describes WHVN's strategic partnerships, governance, specialty care network, and more. Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association Date: 11/2025 Operational Challenges and Adaptive Leadership in Emergency Departments in the United States of America: A Mixed-Methods Analysis Analyzes perspectives from emergency department (ED) leadership regarding operational challenges such as overcrowding, staffing shortages, and diminishing quality of care and provider well-being. Utilizes survey and interview data from ED leaders to examine adaptive strategies, evidence-based protocols, cross-professional collaboration, and more, with a focus on rural contexts included. Author(s): Emmanuel Animashaun, Ellen Barnie Peprah, Olaoluwa Olorunfemi, et al. Location: BMC Emergency Medicine, 25, 241 Date: 11/2025 PACE in Rural Communities: Emerging Evidence on Integrated Care for Older Adults An interview conversation with Carrie Henning-Smith of the the University of Minnesota School of Public Health (UMN) Rural Health Research Center about All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). Covers how PACE supports older adults, the impact of PACE in rural communities as well as potential barriers, and policy and partnership needs. Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies Date: 11/2025 RHCs and CAHs Participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP): Characteristics of the Providers and Communities Describes the characteristics of Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) currently participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) in 2023. Compares CAH and RHC characteristics by MSSP participation, ownership status, and free-standing versus provider-based RHC status. Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis Date: 11/2025 Rural Hospital Financial Distress: Relative Risk in 2025 Infographic with a state-level map showing the number and percent of rural hospitals in each state at highest relative financial distress risk in 2025. Features statistics showing states with multiple hospitals, one hospital, and no hospitals at highest risk. Includes information on states with highest percentage of rural hospitals at highest relative risk of financial distress. Sponsoring organizations: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program, The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research Date: 11/2025 Rural-Urban Differences in Barriers to Care and Utilization of Preventive Care Among Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries Discusses the differences in barriers to care and preventive care utilization for older adults enrolled in traditional Medicare versus Medicare Advantage and makes a rural-urban comparison. Explores barriers to care, such as quality of care and out-of-pocket costs, as well as care utilization, such as regular vaccinations, cancer screenings, and cholesterol tests, among others. Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis Date: 11/2025 Severe Maternal Morbidity and Mortality After Delivery Hospitalization Among Rural Residents Bypassing Local Care for Urban Hospitals Examines severe maternal morbidity and mortality (SMMM) when labor and delivery patients bypass rural, local hospitals to give birth at urban hospitals. Analyzes 235,375 rural versus urban births in South Carolina and associated 1-year postpartum follow-up visit data for rates of SMMM. Author(s): Peiyin Hung, Haoyuan Gao, Jihong Liu, et al. Location: JAMA Network Open, 8(11), e2544522 Date: 11/2025 Third Party Negotiated Hospital Pricing in Rural and Urban Hospitals within 12 U.S. States Examines the gross and negotiated pricing for common services in rural and urban hospitals. Bases findings on samples from 12 states and focuses on costs of routine care, imaging, and childbirth. Sponsoring organization: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center Date: 11/2025 |
Deadline: Dec 31, 2025 Michigan Center for Rural Health Event Dates: Apr 23 - 26, 2026 Mount Pleasant, MI Conference Website Call for Proposals: 2026 Ohio Rural Health Conference Deadline: Jan 30, 2026 Ohio Rural Health Association Event Dates: Aug 6 - 7, 2026 Wooster, OH Conference Website |
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