Rural Health

With enhanced ACA subsidies set to expire Dec. 31 and a proposed two-year extension still in limbo, health system executives are bracing for a wave of financial, operational and access-related challenges, particularly among vulnerable patient populations. The delayed proposal, dubbed…

As hospitals across the U.S. continue to grapple with financial challenges, cuts and even closures, the toll on rural communities has also increased. In 2025 alone, Becker’s has reported on 21 hospital closures. The effects of these closures can move…

New visa rules and fees have disrupted international recruiting at healthcare systems across the nation this fall, leaving many worried about long-term effects on existing staff shortages. Foreign clinicians typically enter the U.S. on two types of work visas: H-1B…

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have outlined an ambitious vision for transforming rural healthcare through the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation (RHT) Program. Coming at a time when more than 300 rural hospitals are at risk of closure1…

Emporia, Kan.-based Newman Regional Health plans to launch a two-year telehealth initiative backed by a $485,000 grant. The Telehealth for Rural Health Equity Initiative is designed to expand telehealth services across the hospital’s primary care clinics and emergency department, according…

For patients scattered across Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Sanford Health’s rural footprint, telemedicine has become embedded in everyday care. But as pandemic-era telehealth policies face an uncertain future in Washington, Sanford leaders say the stakes are significant for the communities they…

When patients in Colorado’s remote Yampa Valley needed to see a specialist, the trip often meant a daylong journey to Denver: hours on the road, time off work, child care arrangements and the cost of gas. Now, they can log…

For Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Avera Health, the promise of virtual nursing lies in keeping rural hospitals staffed and sustainable. Recruiting nurses in smaller communities has long been a challenge, and the system sees remote roles as one way to extend…

The Rural Health Transformation Program, enacted as part of the newly passed budget law known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, allocates $50 billion over five years to support rural health initiatives. However, despite the headline investment, policy experts…

Reviving Rural Health Care: Regulatory Fixes Can Save Small Town Emergency Hospitals More than 140 rural hospitals in the U.S. have closed since 2010. That’s more than one hospital per month for over a decade—leaving entire counties without lifesaving care.…