HRSA Announces New Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines

January 22, 2026

HRSA Announces New Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines

This month, the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy’s (FORHP’s) parent agency announced updated cervical cancer screening guidelines that include a new option for women to self-collect samples for screening. Additionally, the guideline includes new language requiring most insurance plans to cover any additional testing needed to complete the screening process for malignancies.

Recent research shows a rate of cervical cancer that is 25 percent higher in rural areas; the same study found the rate of cervical cancer deaths is 42 percent higher.

Click Here to Learn More.

Telehealth Funding Opportunity – Technology-enabled Collaborative Learning Program

January 22, 2026

Telehealth Funding Opportunity – Technology-enabled Collaborative Learning Program

The Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA’s) Office for the Advancement of Telehealth is forecasting four funding opportunities to be released in the coming months. These programs will support innovations in telehealth technology to improve health outcomes for all Americans and increase access to health care.

The Technology-enabled Collaborative Learning Program will support the use of technology-enabled collaborative learning to improve retention of health care providers and increase access to health care services in rural and underserved areas.

Estimated Post Date: February 2, 2026

Estimated Application Due Date: April 03, 2026

Eligible Applicants

  • County governments
  • Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
  • Native American tribal governments
  • Private institutions of higher education
  • For profit organizations other than small businesses
  • Small businesses
  • Independent school districts
  • Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education
  • State governments
  • Special district governments
  • Native American tribal organizations
  • City or township governments
  • Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS

Click Here to Learn More and Subscribe

Telehealth Funding Opportunity – Chronic Care Telehealth Centers for Excellence Program

January 22, 2026

Telehealth Funding Opportunity – Chronic Care Telehealth Centers for Excellence Program

The Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA’s) Office for the Advancement of Telehealth is forecasting four funding opportunities to be released in the coming months. These programs will support innovations in telehealth technology to improve health outcomes for all Americans and increase access to health care.

The Chronic Care Telehealth Centers for Excellence program will fund academic medical centers to integrate innovative telehealth technologies into the full spectrum of services included in chronic care models, including but not limited to, chronic disease prevention and management, and the treatment for acute episodes that result from long-term morbidity. These centers will disseminate findings through research publications and will serve as national models for integrating telehealth technology into chronic care services.

Estimated Post Date: February 23, 2026

Estimated Application Due Date: April 24, 2026

Eligible Applicants

  • Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education
  • Private institutions of higher education

Click Here to Learn More and Subscribe

Telehealth Funding Opportunity – Telehealth Nutrition Services Network Grant Program

January 22, 2026

Telehealth Funding Opportunity – Telehealth Nutrition Services Network Grant Program

The Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA’s) Office for the Advancement of Telehealth is forecasting funding opportunities to be released in the coming months. These programs will support innovations in telehealth technology to improve health outcomes for all Americans and increase access to health care.

Forecasted Telehealth Funding Opportunities

The Telehealth Nutrition Services Network Grant Program will support telehealth networks that improve access to quality health care services through telehealth technology. This program will focus on chronic disease prevention and chronic disease management through comprehensive telehealth nutrition services.

  • Eligible Applicants:
    • Native American Tribal Governments
    • Private institutions of higher education
    • Independent school districts
    • Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education
    • State governments
    • Native American tribal organizations
    • Small businesses
    • County governments
    • For profit organizations other than small businesses
    • Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS
    • City or township governments
    • Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS
  • Estimated Post Date: February 16, 2026
  • Estimated Application Due Date: April 17, 2026

This NOFO will have a statutory funding preference for an eligible entity which meets one of the following criteria:

  • Organization: The eligible entity is a rural community-based organization or another community-based organization.
  • Services: The eligible entity proposes to use Federal funds made available through such a grant to develop plans for, or to establish, telehealth networks that provide mental health care, public health services, long-term care, preventive care, case management services, prenatal care, labor care, birthing care, or postpartum care
  • Coordination: The eligible entity demonstrates how the project to be carried out under the grant will be coordinated with other relevant federally funded projects in the areas, communities, and populations to be served through the grant.
  • Network: The eligible entity demonstrates that the project involves a telehealth network that includes and entity that provides clinical health care services or educational services for health care providers and for patients or their families and is a public library, an institution of higher education or a local government entity.
  • Connectivity: The eligible entity proposes a project that promotes local and regional connectivity within areas, communities or populations to be served through the project.

Click Here to Learn More and Subscribe

New: Patient Tip Sheet on Using Telehealth for Chronic Diseases

January 22, 2026

New: Patient Tip Sheet on Using Telehealth for Chronic Diseases

Telehealth can help people manage, and even prevent, chronic diseases. Share this tip sheet with your patients so they can learn how to use telehealth to track their health by connecting with providers for virtual visits and using remote monitoring devices.

Click Here to Access this Tip Sheet

New: Best Practice Guide on Telehealth for the Prevention and Management of Chronic Disease

January 22, 2026

New: Best Practice Guide on Telehealth for the Prevention and Management of Chronic Disease

Telehealth can be used to support the prevention and management of chronic conditions. Explore the latest tools and strategies for the effective use of telehealth technologies to support chronic disease prevention and management including specifics on getting started, developing a strategy, billing, and engaging patients.

Click Here to Access this Guide

Now Available: Medicare Survey on Hospital Outpatient Drug Costs

January 14, 2026

Now Available: Medicare Survey on Hospital Outpatient Drug Costs

Per an Executive Order and the 2026 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) final rule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) will survey hospitals to find out how much they pay for outpatient drugs.

This survey runs from January 1 through March 31, 2026. The results will help shape Medicare payment policies starting in 2027.

Hospitals that received OPPS payments for outpatient drugs between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, must complete the survey.

Contact OPPSDrugSurvey@cms.hhs.gov with any questions.

Click Here to Learn More and Access the Survey

New Form for Provider Complaints about Medicare Advantage Plans

January 14, 2026

New Form for Provider Complaints about Medicare Advantage Plans

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched a new online form for providers to submit complaints about Medicare Advantage plans.

The form collects basic information about the complainant, beneficiary, provider, and plan, along with a summary of the complaint.

Submitted complaints will be routed to CMS’s Health Plan Management System (HPMS) Complaints Tracking Module (CTM), where they will be queued and reviewed by CMS.

Click Here to Access Provider Complaints Form

Click Here to Review CMS’s Health Plan Management System Complaints Tracking Module

CMS Proposes Changes to Health Plan Price Transparency – Comment by February 23

January 9, 2026

CMS Proposes Changes to Health Plan Price Transparency – Comment by February 23

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), working with the Department of Labor and the Department of the Treasury (collectively, the Departments), requests public input on proposed changes to the payer price transparency regulations intended to make pricing information easier to access for participants, beneficiaries and enrollees, and to improve the consistency and reliability of public pricing disclosures.

Currently, most group health plans and issuers of group or individual health insurance post pricing information for covered items and services, which third parties, such as researchers and app developers, can use to help consumers better understand the costs associated with their health care.

Proposals include reducing the number and size of the machine-readable files that health plans post online, adding data elements to provide context around the data being reported, and improving the ease of locating and downloading the machine-readable files.

Click Here to Read More

HHS and DEA Extend Telehealth Prescribing Flexibilities

January 8, 2026

HHS and DEA Extend Telehealth Prescribing Flexibilities

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), jointly with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), announced a fourth extension of telemedicine flexibilities for the prescribing of controlled medications through December 31, 2026. This extension ensures that patients who rely on telehealth – including seniors, rural residents, and people with disabilities – can continue accessing care.

The extension provides time to finalize permanent regulations and ensures a smooth transition for patients and providers.

Click Here to Learn More