Rural Health
Resources by Type: Document
October 2026 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) October 2026 meeting. Covers an analysis of physician participation in Medicare Advantage provider networks, issues affecting the payment accuracy of the physician fee schedule and the clinical laboratory fee schedule, clinician quality initiatives in fee-for-service Medicare, Medicare's late-enrollment penalties, and MedPAC's work plan regarding the skilled nursing facility and home health prospective payment systems.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) October 2026 meeting. Covers an analysis of physician participation in Medicare Advantage provider networks, issues affecting the payment accuracy of the physician fee schedule and the clinical laboratory fee schedule, clinician quality initiatives in fee-for-service Medicare, Medicare's late-enrollment penalties, and MedPAC's work plan regarding the skilled nursing facility and home health prospective payment systems.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Notes from the Field: Dengue Outbreak — U.S. Virgin Islands, January 2024–June 2025
Provides an overview of the response to a dengue virus outbreak in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). Discusses the addition of diagnostic testing and web-based reporting for dengue in the USVI, clinical training, vector control, and community outreach.
Author(s): Sarah Gallalee, Hannah M. Cranford, Andra Prosper, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 75(40), 607-608
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Provides an overview of the response to a dengue virus outbreak in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). Discusses the addition of diagnostic testing and web-based reporting for dengue in the USVI, clinical training, vector control, and community outreach.
Author(s): Sarah Gallalee, Hannah M. Cranford, Andra Prosper, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 75(40), 607-608
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Strengthening Telehealth Skills for the Rural Healthcare Workforce
Provides links to training materials, tools, and technical assistance resources to help rural healthcare organizations build telehealth workforce capacity. Covers telehealth fundamentals, workforce development, clinical best practices, patient engagement, technology and innovation, emergency preparedness, reimbursement and sustainability, and regional support.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers
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Provides links to training materials, tools, and technical assistance resources to help rural healthcare organizations build telehealth workforce capacity. Covers telehealth fundamentals, workforce development, clinical best practices, patient engagement, technology and innovation, emergency preparedness, reimbursement and sustainability, and regional support.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers
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Roots of Prosperity: How Community Assets Create the Conditions for Rural Entrepreneurship
Reports on the community factors that influence entrepreneurship in rural areas, including natural, social, infrastructural, financial, and other forms of community capital. Uses Bozeman, Montana, and surrounding Gallatin County as a case study.
Author(s): Amanda Weinstein, Adam Dewbury, Olivia Galloway, et al.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organizations: Capital One Insights Center, Center on Rural Innovation
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Reports on the community factors that influence entrepreneurship in rural areas, including natural, social, infrastructural, financial, and other forms of community capital. Uses Bozeman, Montana, and surrounding Gallatin County as a case study.
Author(s): Amanda Weinstein, Adam Dewbury, Olivia Galloway, et al.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organizations: Capital One Insights Center, Center on Rural Innovation
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Philanthropic Funding Helps Rural Providers Access Ultrasound Equipment and Training
Discusses the benefits of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) for rural patients and facilities. Describes funding from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust for POCUS equipment and training and shares experiences of rural Minnesota and North Dakota providers who received this support.
Author(s): Allee Mead
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Discusses the benefits of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) for rural patients and facilities. Describes funding from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust for POCUS equipment and training and shares experiences of rural Minnesota and North Dakota providers who received this support.
Author(s): Allee Mead
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Survival Versus Scale: The Effects of Critical Access Hospital Designation
Explores whether designation-based hospital subsidies, specifically the Critical Access Hospital (CAH) program, preserve meaningful access to care. Describes the effects of CAH designation on hospital finances, capacity, and organizational outcomes between 1995-2010. Discusses the implications of hospital preservation and reduced operational scale on access to care and patient health.
Author(s): Ian M. McCarthy, Katie Leinenbach
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Bureau of Economic Research
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Explores whether designation-based hospital subsidies, specifically the Critical Access Hospital (CAH) program, preserve meaningful access to care. Describes the effects of CAH designation on hospital finances, capacity, and organizational outcomes between 1995-2010. Discusses the implications of hospital preservation and reduced operational scale on access to care and patient health.
Author(s): Ian M. McCarthy, Katie Leinenbach
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Bureau of Economic Research
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Rural and Non‐Rural U.S. Veterans Receiving Virtual Geriatric Mental Health Services in the Clinical Resource Hubs
Explores how the use of telehealth geriatric mental health services varies among rural and non-rural veterans within the Veterans Health Administration Clinical Resource Hub system, using 2021-2023 electronic health record data of 2,013 veterans aged 50 or older.
Author(s): Christine E. Gould, Chalise Carlson, Susan K. Schultz, et al.
Citation: Psychiatric Research and Clinical Practice
Date: 10/2026
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Explores how the use of telehealth geriatric mental health services varies among rural and non-rural veterans within the Veterans Health Administration Clinical Resource Hub system, using 2021-2023 electronic health record data of 2,013 veterans aged 50 or older.
Author(s): Christine E. Gould, Chalise Carlson, Susan K. Schultz, et al.
Citation: Psychiatric Research and Clinical Practice
Date: 10/2026
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Urban-Rural and Demographic Differences in Substance Use Among High School Students — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2025
Reports on substance use behaviors among students at urban and rural schools based on data from the 2025 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Includes data for city, suburban/town, and rural schools for current and lifetime use of specific substances, including tobacco products, alcohol, prescription opioids, and a range of illicit drugs.
Author(s): Sanjana Pampati, Izraelle I. McKinnon, Joohyun Park, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) Supplements, 75(1), 54-66
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Reports on substance use behaviors among students at urban and rural schools based on data from the 2025 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Includes data for city, suburban/town, and rural schools for current and lifetime use of specific substances, including tobacco products, alcohol, prescription opioids, and a range of illicit drugs.
Author(s): Sanjana Pampati, Izraelle I. McKinnon, Joohyun Park, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) Supplements, 75(1), 54-66
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Cannabis Use and Perceptions among Rural and Urban Cancer Patients and Survivors from a Pennsylvania Cancer Center
Explores how perceptions of cannabis use vary among 186 rural and urban or suburban cancer patients who received treatment from Penn State Cancer Institute between June 2023 and June 2024. Compares openness to use, perceived benefits and risks, and more.
Author(s): Jeremy Ireland, Leah Holben, Cheryl L. Thompson, et al.
Citation: Supportive Care in Cancer, 34, 1074
Date: 10/2026
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Explores how perceptions of cannabis use vary among 186 rural and urban or suburban cancer patients who received treatment from Penn State Cancer Institute between June 2023 and June 2024. Compares openness to use, perceived benefits and risks, and more.
Author(s): Jeremy Ireland, Leah Holben, Cheryl L. Thompson, et al.
Citation: Supportive Care in Cancer, 34, 1074
Date: 10/2026
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Traffic Safety Facts, 2024 Data: Passenger Vehicles
National data on traffic crashes involving passenger vehicles. Features statistics from 2020-2024 with breakdowns by vehicle type, time of day, fatalities, state, and rural or urban locations.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
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National data on traffic crashes involving passenger vehicles. Features statistics from 2020-2024 with breakdowns by vehicle type, time of day, fatalities, state, and rural or urban locations.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
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