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Rural Health Information Hub
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
News by Topic: Healthcare business and finance

Jan 22, 2025 - Highlights recent research studies on obstetric service access in rural communities nationally and in Minnesota. Discusses distance to care, reasons for closures, and projected shortages of obstetric and gynecology physicians.
Source: MinnPost
Jan 15, 2025 - Discusses progress made by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) toward accountable care goals, highlighting accomplishments from the 2025 performance year. Notes participation numbers related to Federally Qualified Health Centers, Rural Health Clinics, Critical Access Hospitals for various CMS models.
Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Newsroom
Jan 15, 2025 - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is seeking comments on the following information collections: 1) Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) Assumption of Responsibilities and Supporting Regulations and 2) Medicare Enrollment Application for Clinics/Group Practices and Other Suppliers. Comments are due by February 14, 2025.
Source: Federal Register
Jan 15, 2025 - Notice from the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) withdrawing the October 28, 2024, notice of proposed rulemaking regarding coverage of certain preventive services under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which requires non-grandfathered group health plans and non-grandfathered group or individual health insurance coverage to cover certain contraceptive services without cost sharing. This withdrawal is effective January 15, 2025.
Source: Federal Register
Jan 15, 2025 - Notice of final rule from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) setting parameters for risk adjustment and user fees for state and federal-based exchanges for 2026. This rule also addresses requirements related to modifications to the calculation of the Basic Health Program (BHP) payment; changes to the approach for conducting Essential Community Provider (ECP) certification reviews; a policy to publicly share aggregated, summary-level Quality Improvement Strategy (QIS) information on an annual basis; revisions to the medical loss ratio (MLR) reporting and rebate requirements; and more.
Source: Federal Register
Jan 15, 2025 - The Washington American Indian Health Commission has requested the state consider a federal waiver for Medicaid coverage of traditional Indigenous healing practices following waivers successfully obtained by 4 other states in 2024. Discusses health disparities in Native communities and the funding benefits tribal health clinics would get from the waiver.
Source: Native News Online
Jan 14, 2025 - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is seeking comments on the following information collections: 1) Conditions of Participation for Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICFs-IID) and 2) Data Use Agreement (DUA) Limited Data Set (LDS) Forms Research Identifiable Files (RIF) Forms. Comments are due by March 17, 2025.
Source: Federal Register
Jan 14, 2025 - Notice from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) seeking comments on the revision of an information collection titled "Medicare Health Outcomes Survey." The Medicare Health Outcomes Survey is a longitudinal patient-reported outcome measure that assesses self-reported beneficiary quality of life and daily functioning and allows CMS to assess the health of the Medicare Advantage population. Comments are due by February 13, 2025.
Source: Federal Register
Jan 14, 2025 - Notice from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announcing the 2025 meetings of the Physician-Focused Payment Model Technical Advisory Committee (PTAC), which will include discussion and voting on proposals for physician-focused payment models (PFPMs). The 2025 meeting dates are: March 3-4, June 3-4, September 8-9, and December 9-10.
Source: Federal Register
Jan 14, 2025 - Request for input regarding barriers to participation in population-based total cost of care (PB-TCOC) models from the Physician-Focused Payment Model Technical Advisory Committee (PTAC). Topics of interest include business decisions impacting participation for different organization types, streamlining models, and incentivizing participation for both primary and specialty care. Asks for feedback regarding types of organizations best positioned to serve rural and other communities. Comments can be emailed to PTAC@HHS.gov by February 7, 2025.
Source: Physician-Focused Payment Model Technical Advisory Committee, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation