Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare needs and services
Medicare Payment Basics: Home Health Care Services Payment System
Overview of Medicare payments for home healthcare services. Includes information on rate-setting and payments for quality reporting and performance. Describes the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) and the home health resource groups (HHRGs) based on clinical and functional status.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Overview of Medicare payments for home healthcare services. Includes information on rate-setting and payments for quality reporting and performance. Describes the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) and the home health resource groups (HHRGs) based on clinical and functional status.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Medicare Payment Basics: Durable Medical Equipment Payment System
Overview of Medicare payments for medical equipment used to treat beneficiaries at home. Defines durable medical equipment (DME), details the DME fee schedule, and discusses the competitive bidding program (CBP) for DME. Includes information a revised methodology for awarding contracts in the next round of competitive establishing payment rates in 2028.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Overview of Medicare payments for medical equipment used to treat beneficiaries at home. Defines durable medical equipment (DME), details the DME fee schedule, and discusses the competitive bidding program (CBP) for DME. Includes information a revised methodology for awarding contracts in the next round of competitive establishing payment rates in 2028.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Medicare Payment Basics: Ambulance Services Payment System
Provides an overview of Medicare payments for ambulance services. Discusses rural add-on payment policies, geographic categories determining payment rates, super-rural ZIP codes, and ambulance fee schedules.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Provides an overview of Medicare payments for ambulance services. Discusses rural add-on payment policies, geographic categories determining payment rates, super-rural ZIP codes, and ambulance fee schedules.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Medicare Payment Basics: Skilled Nursing Facility Services Payment System
Overview of Medicare payments for skilled nursing and rehabilitation services. Describes what constitutes a skilled nursing facility and how small, rural hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) may be used to provide these services with CMS approval. Compares Medicare daily base rates for urban and rural skilled nursing facilities.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Overview of Medicare payments for skilled nursing and rehabilitation services. Describes what constitutes a skilled nursing facility and how small, rural hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) may be used to provide these services with CMS approval. Compares Medicare daily base rates for urban and rural skilled nursing facilities.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Health Professional Shortage Areas: Mental Health
Printable map that shows nonmetropolitan and micropolitan mental health HPSAs on one color scale and metropolitan mental health HPSAs on another. Data source: data.HRSA.gov
Additional links: Mental Health HPSA Table
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
Printable map that shows nonmetropolitan and micropolitan mental health HPSAs on one color scale and metropolitan mental health HPSAs on another. Data source: data.HRSA.gov
Additional links: Mental Health HPSA Table
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
Health Professional Shortage Areas: Dental Care
Printable map that shows nonmetropolitan and micropolitan dental care HPSAs on one color scale and metropolitan dental care HPSAs on another. Data source: data.HRSA.gov
Additional links: Dental Health HPSA Table
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
Printable map that shows nonmetropolitan and micropolitan dental care HPSAs on one color scale and metropolitan dental care HPSAs on another. Data source: data.HRSA.gov
Additional links: Dental Health HPSA Table
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
Health Professional Shortage Areas: Primary Care
Printable map that shows nonmetropolitan and micropolitan primary care HPSAs on one color scale and metropolitan primary care HPSAs on another. Data source: data.HRSA.gov
Additional links: Primary Care HPSA Table
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
Printable map that shows nonmetropolitan and micropolitan primary care HPSAs on one color scale and metropolitan primary care HPSAs on another. Data source: data.HRSA.gov
Additional links: Primary Care HPSA Table
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
"It's Nice to Know That You're Not Alone": Lessons from Rural Midwest Women Veterans' Experiences with a Chronic Pain Management Group
Explores the experiences of rural women veterans who participated in a virtual eight-week telehealth behavioral pilot program aimed at addressing chronic pain. Breaks down participant characteristics, such as age, education, and source of pain, among other measures, and highlights participant feedback.
Author(s): Nicole L. Johnson, Kenda Stewart Steffensmeier, DorisAnn McGinnis, et al.
Citation: Psychological Services, 23(4), 938-945
Date: 09/2026
view details
Explores the experiences of rural women veterans who participated in a virtual eight-week telehealth behavioral pilot program aimed at addressing chronic pain. Breaks down participant characteristics, such as age, education, and source of pain, among other measures, and highlights participant feedback.
Author(s): Nicole L. Johnson, Kenda Stewart Steffensmeier, DorisAnn McGinnis, et al.
Citation: Psychological Services, 23(4), 938-945
Date: 09/2026
view details
Tennessee Suicide Prevention 2026 Annual Report
Summarizes suicide surveillance and programmatic data collected by the Tennessee Department of Health. Identifies strategies and best practices for the prevention of deaths by suicide. Features statistics including rates of suicide among residents of rural and urban Tennessee counties in 2024.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Tennessee Department of Health
view details
Summarizes suicide surveillance and programmatic data collected by the Tennessee Department of Health. Identifies strategies and best practices for the prevention of deaths by suicide. Features statistics including rates of suicide among residents of rural and urban Tennessee counties in 2024.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Tennessee Department of Health
view details
Wisconsin State Opioid Response 4 Year Two: Statewide Annual Report
Provides information on the State Opioid Response 4 (SOR-4) grant awarded in 2024 and focused on expanding access to treatment and recovery services for opioid and stimulant use disorder in Wisconsin, supporting training of peer support services, increasing the number of providers offering medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), and raising awareness related to OUD. Utilizes data from clients who completed the State Opioid Response 4 (SOR-4) GPRA Client Outcome Measures tool from 2025 to 2026 and reports on treatment needs, recovery, telehealth, and recovery housing. Compares client experiences in rural versus urban counties.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute
view details
Provides information on the State Opioid Response 4 (SOR-4) grant awarded in 2024 and focused on expanding access to treatment and recovery services for opioid and stimulant use disorder in Wisconsin, supporting training of peer support services, increasing the number of providers offering medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), and raising awareness related to OUD. Utilizes data from clients who completed the State Opioid Response 4 (SOR-4) GPRA Client Outcome Measures tool from 2025 to 2026 and reports on treatment needs, recovery, telehealth, and recovery housing. Compares client experiences in rural versus urban counties.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute
view details