New Rural Resources

November 26, 2024

New Rural Resources

To mark National Rural Health Day last week, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) released new resources highlighting rural health investments across the country and key programs in rural communities.

  • Click Here to learn more about HRSA’s FY 2024 rural health investments to address health care needs in rural communities.
  • Click Here to find out more about HRSA’s rural health investments in your state.
  • Click Here to see infographic highlighting how HRSA supports rural maternal health.
  • Click Here to listen to the Exploring Rural Health Podcast: Advancing Maternal Health Care in Rural Communities featuring Dr. Kristen Dillon, HRSA’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Chief Medical Officer. She shares the challenges and successes of maternal health care delivery in rural communities and how HRSA is working to improve maternal health outcomes.

Rural America at a Glance: 2024 Edition

November 22, 2024

Rural America at a Glance: 2024 Edition

Rural America at a Glance, 2024 edition, focuses on the age structure of the rural population and the implications of age-related demographic change including rural migration, employment, poverty, childcare, eldercare, and broadband

Click Here to Read

Health Equity: Research Recap

November 22, 2024

Health Equity: Research Recap

This research recap describes how telehealth impacts health equity and opportunities for reducing health disparities.

Click Here to Read More

DEA Extends Telehealth Flexibilities

November 22, 2024

DEA Extends Telehealth Flexibilities

This week, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), in concert with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), issued a third extension of telemedicine flexibilities for the prescribing of controlled medications through December 31, 2025.

Click Here to Learn More

Telehealth Policy Update

November 19, 2024

Telehealth Policy Update

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued the CY 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule and CY2025 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System final rule, which include telehealth policies.

Absent Congressional action, the statutory limitations in place for Medicare telehealth services prior to the COVID-19 public health emergency will take effect for most telehealth services beginning January 1, 2025.

Click Here to Read More

HRSA Announces Complete Lists of Health Professional Shortage Areas

November 18, 2024

HRSA Announces Complete Lists of Health Professional Shortage Areas

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) new lists, maintained and updated by HRSA’s Data Warehouse, were announced in the Federal Register last week. The lists identify all geographic areas, population groups, and facilities designated as Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs). Designations that are currently proposed for withdrawal will remain in this status until a second notice is published in the Federal Register.

Click Here to See New Lists

CMS Releases CY 2025 Physician Fee Schedule with Telehealth Policy Updates and Key Modifications

November 14, 2024

CMS Releases CY 2025 Physician Fee Schedule with Telehealth Policy Updates and Key Modifications

On November 1, 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Final Calendar Year (CY) 2025 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), outlining important Medicare policy updates for the coming year.

As in previous years, the PFS contains multiple proposals affecting telehealth policy. Many temporary federal telehealth waivers in Medicare are set to expire this year, and their extension would require congressional action. However, CMS has made adjustments within its authority to mitigate the effects of these expirations if Congress does not act to extend statutory flexibilities further.

For those interested in further detail, CCHP has released a fact sheet with specific page references to the unpublished version of the PFS, outlining telehealth-specific proposals and updates in depth.

Click Here for Fact Sheet

Click Here to Read Final Calendar Year 2025 Physician Fee Schedule

CART Outpatient Version 1.25.0 Release

November 14, 2024

CART Outpatient Version 1.25.0 Release

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced the release of the CMS Abstraction and Report Tool (CART) and is now available on the QualityNet website: https://qualitynet.cms.gov/

This release contains updates to CART Outpatient 1.25.0 to support the Sex Data Element changes as listed in Specifications Manual 17.0a. This CART version must be used for encounter dates 07-01-24 through 9-30-24.

Details of the new Sex Data Elements are listed below:

  • Sex assigned at birth – Required
  • Sexual Orientation – Voluntary
  • Gender Identity – Voluntary

Note: CART for Q4 2024 encounters and future will be available in January 2025 in HQR

The CART 1.25.0 download, as well as installation instructions, edits, and online help are located on the QualityNet website.

  • Select the Hospitals – Outpatient card on the home page of QualityNet,
  • The CART-Outpatient version 1.25.0 can be accessed under the CART Overview page,
  • Edits and Online help Guide are at the bottom of the Download Cart page under resources,
  • Known issues for CART-Outpatient are located on the QualityNet Home page under the Help menu.
    • Select the known Issues link and navigate to hospital Quality Reporting System Known Issues PDF

Click Here to Go to QualityNet website

Click Here to Download CART Version 1.25.0

Who to contact with questions:

HRSA Health Center Performance Improvement Toolkit

November 8, 2024

HRSA Health Center Performance Improvement Toolkit

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has introduced a new Health Center Performance Improvement Toolkit.

The toolkit can be used to conduct self-assessments to understand the focus areas and potential activities needed to achieve your performance improvement goals.

The resources aim to:

  • Foster innovation
  • Enhance patient care
  • Improve health outcomes for underserved populations

Click Here to access the toolkit

RHIhub Topic Guide: Finding Statistics and Data Related to Rural Health

October 28, 2024

RHIhub Topic Guide: Finding Statistics and Data Related to Rural Health

This Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub) Topic Guide will help you locate and accurately use statistics and data to:

  • Understand rural health needs and rural/urban disparities
  • Communicate rural health needs
  • Inform decision-making related to service delivery and policy

Click Here to Access Topic Guide

Many providers of rural-relevant data rely on the same small number of federal data sets for their data products.

Click Here to Access Data Sources & Tools Relevant to Rural Health