Category: HRSA

Research Alert: Rural/Urban Differences in Health, Health Care Use, and Barriers to Care for Postpartum and Parenting Women, 2006-2018

September 4, 2025

Research Alert: Rural/Urban Differences in Health, Health Care Use, and Barriers to Care for Postpartum and Parenting Women, 2006-2018

Access to maternity care has been declining in rural communities, and rural residents face elevated risks of maternal morbidity and mortality. More than half of maternal deaths in the United States occur in the postpartum year.

The goal of this analysis from the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center was to describe rural/urban differences in health, health care utilization, and barriers to care for reproductive-age females, with specific focus on those who are parents of young children (ages 1-4) and those who are postpartum (gave birth last year).

Click Here to Read Research Alert

Policy Brief: Rural Beneficiary Access to Medicare Advantage – Part D Plans

September 4, 2025

Policy Brief: Rural Beneficiary Access to Medicare Advantage – Part D Plans

In 2023, there were nearly twice as many Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (MA-PD) plans in metropolitan counties as in noncore (the most rural) counties, averaging about 29 plan choices for enrollees in metropolitan counties compared to 16 plans available to enrollees in noncore counties.

This policy brief from the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis updates RUPRI’s analysis of MA-PDs including enhanced benefit plan availability and variations in characteristics across metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore areas.

Click Here to Read the Policy Brief

September is National Recovery Month

September 4, 2025

September is National Recovery Month

First recognized in 1989, National Recovery Month promotes new evidence-based treatment and recovery practices, supports the nation’s strong and proud recovery community, and highlights the dedication of communities and service providers who make recovery possible.

In honor of National Recovery Month, the White House proclaimed the week of August 31 as the 2025 Overdose Prevention Week to remember the lives lost, support grieving families, and review the nation’s solemn commitment to ending the overdose epidemic.

A variety of federal resources is available to support individuals and their families:

To learn more about programs created by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) to support recovery, visit the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) on HRSA’s website.

Each of the RCORP Centers of Excellence provides a clearinghouse of information and resources for prevention, treatment, and recovery that are specific to rural communities.

Recovery Resources

Click Here for SAMHSA’s National Recovery Month Resources and Tools

Click Here to Read Presidents’ Overdose Prevention Week Proclamation

Click Here for SAMHSA’s 2025 Recovery Month Toolkit

Click Here for CDC Stigma Reduction Guide

Click Here for the National Institute on Drug Abuse Preferred Language for Talking About Addiction

Apply Today for the 2025 NHSC Students to Service Loan Repayment Program

August 27, 2025

Apply Today for the 2025 NHSC Students to Service Loan Repayment Program

Up to $120,000 in tax-free loan repayment is now within reach! You can apply to the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Students to Service Loan Repayment Program if you are your final year of medical, nursing, or dental school.

A Maternity Care Target Area Supplemental Award of an additional $40,000 is available for physicians specializing in obstetrics, gynecology, or family medicine physicians who regularly practice obstetrics, as well as certified nurse midwives.

In exchange for a three-year service commitment, you can reduce your educational debt and launch your career where it’s needed most in high-need rural, tribal, or urban communities.

Click Here to Learn More & Apply

Comments Requested on Proposed Changes to the Medicare Hospital Cost Report, Comment by September 15

August 21, 2025

Comments Requested on Proposed Changes to the Medicare Hospital Cost Report, Comment by September 15

In the CY2026 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) proposed rule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) seeks comments on their proposal to require that hospitals include in their Medicare cost reports, beginning January 1, 2026, the median payer-specific charges that they have negotiated with Medicare Advantage organizations, by Medicare Severity-Diagnosis Related Groups.

The rule also requests comments on a proposed methodology hospitals would use to calculate the median payer-specific charge.

Critical Access Hospitals, Rural Emergency Hospitals, and hospitals operated by an Indian Health Program would not report median payer-specific charges on cost reports because these hospitals are not paid using the inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS).

Click Here to Read Proposed Rule and Make Comment

Click the links below to learn more about:

Announcement for Providers that Reassign their Benefits to CAHs

August 21, 2025

Announcement for Providers that Reassign their Benefits to CAHs

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that some Method II Critical Access Hospitals may be experiencing denials with Fiscal Intermediary Shared System (FISS) reason codes 31006 and 31007 indicating that providers do not have a reassignment on file in the Provider Enrollment Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS).

Medicare Administrative Contractors will reprocess these claims within approximately two weeks and Method II CAHs do not need to take any action.

Additional information to ensure eligible health care providers accurately reassign their benefits to Method II CAHs will be issued shortly.

Click Here to Learn More

Deadline Extended: Apply Today for the Rural Hospital Stabilization Program

August 20, 2025

Deadline Extended: Apply Today for the Rural Hospital Stabilization Program

The deadline to apply for the Rural Hospital Stabilization Program (RHSP) has been extended to Friday, August 22.

The program funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA’s) Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) and administered by the National Rural Health Resource Center, helps hospitals improve financial stability through comprehensive assessment and planning that support data-driven decisions, expand needed services and keep care close to home.

Eligible hospitals include:

  • Critical Access Hospitals,
  • Prospective Payment System Hospitals,
  • Rural Emergency Hospitals, and
  • Tribal Hospitals

Hospitals that previously applied and would like to be reconsidered should contact stabilization@ruralcenter.org to update their existing application

Click the links below to learn more about RHSP

CMS Seeks Comments: Proposed Changes to the Overall Hospital Star Rating System, Comment by September 15

August 15, 2025

CMS Seeks Comments: Proposed Changes to the Overall Hospital Star Rating System, Comment by September 15

Published in the CY2026 Medicare Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) Proposed Rule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requests feedback on their proposal to update how they calculate the Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating, which summarizes a variety of quality measures across five areas into a single star rating for each hospital.

The five areas of quality are Safety of Care, Mortality, Readmission, Patient Experience, and Timely and Effective Care. CMS proposed to emphasize the contribution of the Safety of Care measure group in hospitals; ratings by limiting the total number of stars that hospitals with the lowest Safety of Care scores can earn.

They also propose that this change, if finalized, would only apply to hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals with at least 3 Safety of Care measures. CMS estimates that about 830 rural hospitals with star ratings had at least 3 Safety of Care measures in 2024.

Click Here to Learn More

Targeted Technical assistance for Rural Hospitals Program, Apply by September 30

August 15, 2025

Targeted Technical assistance for Rural Hospitals Program, Apply by September 30

Applications are being accepted to receive two years of technical assistance through this FORHP-supported program for rural hospitals interested in addressing financial and operational challenges and maintaining essential health services for their communities.

Technical assistance for this project is provided by the Center for Public Health practice and Research sat the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, and will begin November 2025.

Applications will continue to be accepted on a rolling basis year-round.

Click Here to Learn More and Apply

Request for Comments: Newborn Screening, Comment by September 15

August 15, 2025

Request for Comments: Newborn Screening, Comment by September 15

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is considering recommending the Secretary of Health and Human Services add Metachromatic Leukodystrophy (MLD) and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) to the Recommended Uniform Screening Panel (RUSP).

HRSA is providing notice and requesting comments from the public on these potential recommendations. The notices can be found here:

HRSA is particularly interested in comments that address the potential benefit of early screening for these conditions within the newborn period, the ability of state newborn screening programs to screen for them, and the availability of effective treatments.

Submit comments by September 15, 2025

See evidence reviews for MLD and DMD for additional information: