September 2020
View Rural Action Plan.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the Rural Action Plan.
“The plan serves as the first HHS-wide assessment of rural healthcare efforts in more than 18 years and is the product of HHS’s Rural Task Force, a group of experts and leaders across the department first put together by Secretary Azar in 2019.”
The plan features a strategy with four main points: building a sustainable health and human services model for rural communities, leveraging technology and innovation, focusing on preventing disease and mortality, and increasing rural access to care.
“Eighteen HHS agencies and offices took part in developing the plan, which includes 71 new or expanded activities for FY 2020 and beyond. Efforts that will be undertaken in FY 2020 include nine new rural-focused administrative or regulatory actions, three new rural-focused technical assistance efforts, 14 new rural research efforts, and five new rural program efforts. These efforts build on 94 new rural-focused projects the HHS Rural Task Force identified as having launched over the past three years.”