March 26, 2026

Rural Emergency Hospital: Progress, Resources, and Real-World Lessons

The Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) designation, created by Congress in 2020, is intended to preserve access to emergency and outpatient care in rural communities that may not be able to sustain a full hospital. Since the designation took effect in January 2023, 44 hospitals across the country are now operating as REHs. The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) funds a number of resources to support hospitals considering this transition including:

• The Rural Emergency Hospital Technical Assistance Center offers resources and one-on-one guidance before and after conversion, helping communities make informed decisions. Newly added resources include a learning brief on how REHs are addressing obstetric care despite financial, workforce, and regulatory challenges, and lessons from REH leaders through a recent Fireside Chat.
• The Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub) released an updated topic guide, which answers common questions and explains the REH designation in detail.
• Through FORHP funded research, the University of North Carolina examined whether the REH designation helped financially distressed rural hospitals avoid closure.

March 12, 2026

HHS Releases Cybersecurity Toolkit

The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is introducing a new cybersecurity module within the Risk Identification and Site Criticality (RISC) 2.0 Toolkit.

“Cyber threats are growing more sophisticated. This module is the latest addition to our toolkit of resources to assist our health care and public health partners in preventing the disruption of patient care and strengthening national health security,” says ASPR Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary John Knox. “We must acknowledge that cyber safety is patient safety and that cyber threats can cause cascading problems across the health care industry. The new cybersecurity module will help our partners understand what is needed to strengthen their resilience.

RISC 2.0 is a free, web-based platform where organizations can conduct risk assessments by identifying threats, assessing vulnerabilities, determining consequences and criticality, and sharing findings with stakeholders. Currently more than 3,500 Health Systems are using the RISC Tool.

The new cybersecurity module guides users through a series of questions about their policies and practices, scoring responses against the NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 and HHS Cybersecurity Performance Goals. This objective, standards-based approach helps organizations identify critical gaps, prioritize investments, and make informed decisions about risk mitigation. When health care organizations have the means to identify risks and vulnerabilities, they can implement strategies that minimize disruptions to patient care and strengthen preparedness and resilience.

Click Here to Learn More

Click Here to Access RISC Toolkit 2.0

Click Here to Access the NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0

February 18, 2026

5 Tips to Get Health Care from Anywhere

Accessing care doesn’t mean you have to travel to a clinic – telehealth lets you connect using your phone or other device.

Share this 5-step tip sheet to help patients prepare for a successful virtual visit.

Click Here to View Tip Sheet

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

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

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

December 1, 2025

Telehealth Resources for Rural Areas

1 in 5 people in the U.S. live in rural and frontier areas. Rural communities experience less traffic congestion, better air quality, and more open spaces. However, people living in rural areas have greater health care needs and more limited access to timely health services.

Telehealth can help reduce health disparities by increasing access to timely, high quality health care. Even in communities without access to broadband, some health care services can be provided by phone, secure messaging, and asynchronous care.

This best practice guide provides tools and resources to help health care providers effectively use telehealth in rural communities. This information can be used to establish a new program or expand and enhance an existing telehealth program.

Telehealth Resources

Click the links below to access:

• Getting started with rural telehealth
  • Challenges of rural health for patients and providers
  • Benefits of telehealth in rural areas
  • Considerations for starting or expanding your telehealth practice
• Developing a rural telehealth workflow and strategy
  • Get to know your community
  • Create a business plan
  • Market and advertise your telehealth services
  • Evaluate your telehealth program
• Billing for telehealth services in rural areas
  • Medicare
  • Medicaid
  • Private insurance
• Preparing rural patients for telehealth
  • Educate patients about the basics of rural telehealth
  • Help with technology troubleshooting
  • What your patients can expect from a telehealth appointment