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Rural Health Information Hub
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
News by Topic: Healthcare business and finance

Jun 3, 2026 - Notice of an interim final rule with comment period from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) related to the Medicaid community engagement requirement established by Public Law 119-21. This rule specifies the requirements and expectations for States implementing the community engagement requirement, including the Medicaid applicants and beneficiaries who must demonstrate community engagement as a condition of their eligibility, the types of qualifying activities that satisfy the community engagement requirement, the criteria to meet an exception from the requirement, and the criteria to meet a specified exclusion from the requirement. Among other things, this rule also establishes new state reporting requirements. These regulations are effective July 31, 2026. Comments are due by July 31, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Jun 2, 2026 - Pre-publication notice of final rule from the Office of Personnel Management; Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Department of the Treasury; Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), Department of Labor (DOL); and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) related to certain provisions of the No Surprises Act regarding the Federal independent dispute resolution (IDR) process. Among other things, this rule finalizes new requirements relating to the disclosure of information that group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage must include along with the initial payment or notice of denial of payment for certain items and services subject to the surprise billing protections in the No Surprises Act, amendments to certain requirements related to the open negotiation period preceding the Federal IDR process, and the definition of bundled payment arrangements. These rules are effective 60 days after the publication of this notice, which is scheduled for June 4, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Jun 1, 2026 - Notice of a final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updating and revising the Increasing Organ Transplant Access Model (IOTA Model) for Performance Year (PY) 2. The IOTA Model tests whether performance-based upside risk payments or downside risk payments paid to or owed by participating kidney transplant hospitals increase access to kidney transplants for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) while preserving or enhancing the quality of care and reducing Medicare expenditures. This rule is effective July 1, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
May 22, 2026 - Notice of proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services describing alternatives to modify the limit on the total payment rate and other requirements for State directed payments in Medicaid managed care. This rule also proposes to set a limit for certain targeted Medicaid payments in Medicaid fee-for-service. Includes rural considerations throughout. Comments are due July 21, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
May 22, 2026 - Notice from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services making technical and typographical corrections to the April 14, 2026, proposed rule. Comments on the proposed rule are due by June 9, 2026.
May 21, 2026 - Announces proposed legislation to extend the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration (RCHD) Program for 5 more years. RCHD allows for innovative hospital payment models to support rural facilities.
Source: Office of Representative Randy Feenstra
May 21, 2026 - Profiles Timothy Reed, CEO of Prosser Memorial Health, a rural Washington health system that has undergone significant expansion in recent years. Reed describes his plan to balance financial stewardship with expanded access to care.
Source: HealthLeaders
May 20, 2026 - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is seeking comments on the following information collections: 1) Administrative Requirements for Section 6071 of the Deficit Reduction Act; and 2) Medicaid Managed Care Quality Including Supporting Regulations. Comments are due within 60 days of this notice.
Source: Federal Register
May 20, 2026 - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is seeking comments on the following information collections: 1) CHIPRA Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment; and 2) Behavioral Health Clinic Quality Data Reporting. Comments are due June 3, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
May 20, 2026 - Notice of final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services containing methods to improve the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, including payment parameters and provisions related to the HHS-operated risk adjustment and risk adjustment data validation (HHS-RADV) programs. Among other things, this rule also contains 2027 user fee rates for qualified health plans (QHPs) through Federally-facilitated Exchanges (FFEs) and State-based Exchanges on the Federal platform (SBE-FPs). This rule is effective July 20, 2026.
Source: Federal Register