Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
News by Topic: Statistics and data

May 27, 2026 - Analyzes Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) nursing home data to compare rural and urban staffing and health inspection ratings in Texas.
Source: The Daily Yonder
May 26, 2026 - Describes rural disparities and unique risk factors leading to higher infant mortality. Highlights recent literature from the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center on obstetric care access as well as efforts to reduce infant mortality rates in Maine and Montana.
Source: AcademyHealth
May 26, 2026 - The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is seeking comments on a proposed extension for methodological field tests for the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). The tests will continue to examine ways to increase data quality, lower operating costs, and gain a better understanding of sources and effects of non-sampling error on NSDUH estimates. Comments are due within 30 days of this notice.
Source: Federal Register
May 20, 2026 - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is allowing an additional 30 days to comment on an information collections titled, "Developmental Studies to Improve the National Health Care Surveys," while it is being reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget.
Source: Federal Register
May 19, 2026 - Almost a quarter of American adults aged 65 and older are at risk for social isolation. Highlights the variation in risk, both among states and at the county level.
Source: America's Health Rankings
May 14, 2026 - Notice from the U.S. Census Bureau providing an additional 30 days for comments on the December 19, 2025, notice regarding the extension of forms related to the American Community Survey (ACS) and Puerto Rico Community Survey. Comments are due within 30 days of this notice.
Source: Federal Register
May 12, 2026 - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is seeking comments on Round 9 of the "National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Rapid Surveys System (RSS)." The RSS complements the current household survey systems at NCHS and uses survey data from probability-based online panels to produce time-sensitive estimates of new and emerging public health topics, attitudes, and behaviors. Comments are due within 30 days of this notice.
Source: Federal Register
May 4, 2026 - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking comments on a proposed information collection project titled "National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) 2027-2029." Information collected through the NYTS is used to identify trends in youth tobacco use over time, and to inform the development of public education campaigns, policies and rules, and compliance and enforcement programs for tobacco products. Comments are due by July 6, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
May 1, 2026 - Notice from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) seeking comments on a new information collection titled "Generic Clearance for the Collection of Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) Respondent "Pulse" Feedback." The MCBS Pulse will establish a proactive, data-driven process that will enable CMS to accomplish three goals: 1) enhancing operational efficiency by enabling decision-makers to obtain time-sensitive data points not available from other sources to inform program planning and development; 2) adding early design phase questionnaire testing capabilities by collecting rapid turnaround feedback on nascent questionnaire concepts; and 3) gathering directional feedback from beneficiaries on emerging concerns for exploratory purposes and early-stage issue identification. Comments are due by June 1, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Apr 28, 2026 - Notice from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) seeking comments on the 2028 Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Quality Measure Set. The HCBS Quality Measure Set is a set of nationally standardized quality measures for Medicaid-funded HCBS intended to promote more common and consistent use of nationally standardized quality measures in HCBS programs within and across States, create opportunities for CMS and states to have comparative quality data on HCBS programs, and drive improvement in quality of care and outcomes for people receiving HCBS. Specifically, CMS seeks comments on proposed mandatory and voluntary measures for the 2028 HCBS Quality Measure Set; how States collect, calculate, and report data on the measures in the proposed 2028 HCBS Quality Measure Set; the proposed measures in the 2028 HCBS Quality Measure Set for which States are required to report stratified data, including rural/urban status; and more. Comments are due by May 28, 2026.
Source: Federal Register