Rural ASCs and independent physician practices are navigating a split picture in 2026. New federal dollars, a federal shortage designation push and emerging payment reform are creating fresh opportunities for surgical access outside hospital walls. At the same time, clinic…
Rural Health
The Health Resources and Services Administration has opened applications for nearly $140 million in new grant funding aimed at expanding healthcare access and strengthening rural health systems. The funding, announced June 29, will support rural hospitals, telehealth, physician workforce development,…
The Georgia Composite Medical Board issued a position statement in early May reinterpreting a 2006 state law in a way that advanced practice registered nurses warn will force clinic closures and cut off healthcare access across rural Georgia, The Georgia…
A little more than a year after H.R. 1 rocked health systems' financial projections and five-year plans, this fall will bring the trial of Luigi Mangione and midterm elections, putting healthcare dissatisfaction back into the spotlight.
A bipartisan group of senators led by Senator Brian Schatz, a Democrat from Hawaii, introduced the Ensuring Access to General Surgery Act of 2026, legislation that would create the first formal federal shortage designation for general surgeons and direct the…
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As rural hospitals in the U.S. push to ensure long-term financial sustainability, healthcare leaders are encouraging a focus on collaboration to strengthen overall outcomes. The Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform’s most recent analysis found that 720 rural hospitals,…
Iowa has become the first state to fully allocate its initial funding from the Rural Health Transformation Program. The state has allocated all $209 million of its first-year funding for healthcare initiatives, including workforce development, cancer research and prevention and…
Mayo Clinic is helping develop AI-powered tools designed to expand access to hospital-level care in rural and underserved communities through a federally funded initiative aimed at bringing medical services closer to patients’ homes. The Rochester, Minn.-based health system is participating…
As CMS begins distributing first-year awards from the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program, three healthcare leaders gathered at the inaugural Becker’s Rural Healthcare Summit on June 12 and offered sharply divergent views on whether federal investment can fix what…
A rural Texas hospital organization has notified UnitedHealthcare of its intent to end all participation agreements over alleged unsustainable reimbursement rates. Six things to know: 1. Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals Clinically Integrated Network, representing primary care clinics…