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Rural Health
News by Topic: Healthcare quality

Nov 6, 2026 - Notice of a final rule with comment period from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) making changes to the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and the Medicare Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) payment system for calendar year 2027, including changes to the amounts and factors used to determine the payment rates for Medicare services paid under the OPPS and those paid under the ASC payment systems. Among other things, this rule updates and refines requirements for the Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting Program and Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality Reporting Program; finalizes the implementation of provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, regarding off-campus outpatient departments of a provider; and announces notices of closure of teaching hospitals and opportunities to apply for available slots. Comments are due by January 4, 2027. This rule is effective January 1, 2027.
Source: Federal Register
Nov 6, 2026 - Pre-publication notice of a proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposing to modify, remove, or streamline Medicare and Medicaid regulations deemed obsolete or excessively burdensome on healthcare providers and suppliers. These changes aim to reduce costs, enhance flexibility in delivering innovative care, and streamline existing regulations. Outlines proposed revisions for hospitals, long-term care facilities, intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities, Rural Emergency Hospitals, and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Among other things, this proposed rule includes requests for information on potential changes to regulations regarding transplant programs, supervision of anesthesia services, and hospital and CAH respiratory illness and infectious disease data reporting. Comments are due 60 days after the publication of this notice, which is scheduled for November 10, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Nov 5, 2026 - Notice from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) seeking comments on the following information collections: 1) Collection Requirements for Compendia for Determination of Medically-accepted Indications for Off-label Uses of Drugs and Biologicals in an Anti-cancer Chemotherapeutic Regimen; 2) Quality Bonus Payment Appeals; and 3) The In-Center Hemodialysis Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Survey Mode Experiment. Comments are due by December 7, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Nov 5, 2026 - Describes a proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services offering regulatory revisions to Conditions of Participation, Conditions for Coverage, and Requirements for Participation for Medicare- and Medicaid-participating providers and suppliers. Impacted facilities include Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Emergency Hospitals, among others. Also requests comments regarding other policies such as long-term care facility discharge; data reporting requirements; physician supervision of certified registered nurse anesthetists, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners; transplant program certification; and other policies addressing Medicaid institutional workforce.
Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Newsroom
Nov 5, 2026 - Pre-publication notice of final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updating the home health payment rates for calendar year (CY) 2027. This rule also finalizes changes to the Home Health Quality Reporting Program (HH QRP) and summarizes potential initiatives to improve alignment between the HH QRP and the expanded Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) Model. Among other things, this rule finalizes permanent and temporary behavior adjustments and recalibrates the case-mix weights and updates the functional impairment levels; comorbidity subgroups; and low-utilization payment adjustment (LUPA) thresholds for CY 2027; and summarizes and responds to comments received on the July 6, 2026, proposed rule regarding the provision of home health palliative care services and a home health specific wage index. The home health prospective payment system and HH QRP provisions of this rule and the regulatory changes at 42 CFR 484.245 are effective January 1, 2027. The remaining regulations are effective 60 days after the date of filing for public inspection. Publication is scheduled for November 9, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Nov 5, 2026 - Pre-publication notice of a final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) addressing: 1) changes to the Physician Fee Schedule and Medicare Part B payment policies; 2) policies for the Medicare Prescription Drug Inflation Rebate Program under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022; 3) limiting Medicare coverage of certain individuals; 4) the Ambulatory Specialty Model; 5) updates to drugs and biological products paid under Part B; 6) Medicare Shared Savings Program requirements; 7) updates to the Quality Payment Program; 8) updates to policies for Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs); 9) updates to the Ambulance Fee Schedule regulations; 10) codification of the Inflation Reduction Act and Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 provisions; 11) updates to Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule regulations; and 12) updates to the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program. These regulations are effective January 1, 2027.
Source: Federal Register
Nov 2, 2026 - Discusses quality rural stroke care and how one hospital system has worked to address rural-specific challenges. Discusses telemedicine, efficient workflows, data gathering, and having teams both inside the hospital and outside it involved.
Source: American Medical Association
Oct 30, 2026 - Notice of final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) making changes related to the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System (PPS) for calendar year 2027 and updating the payment rate for renal dialysis services furnished by an ESRD facility to individuals with acute kidney injury (AKI). This rule also updates the requirements for the ESRD Quality Incentive Program. These regulations are effective January 1, 2027.
Source: Federal Register
Oct 28, 2026 - Describes the higher risk of stroke among farmers and the challenges they experience in accessing emergency medical care. Highlights an American Heart Association program that helps hospitals identify opportunities to improve care for heart disease, heart attack, and stroke.
Source: Farm Press
Oct 23, 2026 - Notice from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) seeking comments on an information collection request titled "National Practitioner Data Bank for Adverse Information on Physicians and Other Health Care Practitioners—45 CFR part 60 Regulations and Forms, OMB No. 0906-0081—Revision." The National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) aims to improve the quality of healthcare by encouraging hospitals, state licensing boards, professional societies, and other eligible entities providing healthcare services to identify and discipline those who engage in unprofessional behavior, and to restrict the ability of incompetent healthcare practitioners, providers, or suppliers to move from state to state without disclosure or discovery of previous damaging or incompetent performance. Comments are due by November 23, 2026.
Source: Federal Register