Rural Health Care Leadership Conference News Coverage

35th Annual AHA Rural Health Care Leadership Conference. February 6-9, 2022. Arizona Grand Resort and Spa.

The American Hospital Association’s 2022 Rural Health Care Leadership Conference, February 6-9, Phoenix, AZ, brings together top practitioners and thinkers to share strategies and resources for accelerating the shift to a more integrated and sustainable rural health system. We’ll examine the most significant operational, financial and environmental challenges including the post-pandemic impact on rural hospitals and their communities, and present innovative approaches that will enable you to transform your organization’s care delivery model and business practices.

Couldn’t attend AHA’s 2022 Rural Health Care Leadership Conference? No problem. Follow along here for updates, and follow along on social media using hashtag #AHARuralHealth for more.

 

Latest

Critical access hospitals that did not achieve meaningful use in the Medicare Electronic Health Record Incentive Program for the 2017 reporting period can apply through Nov. 30 for a hardship exception to avoid a 2017 payment adjustment.
Health care providers and others can apply through Jan.
by Genevieve Diesing
Livingston HealthCare in Montana used a grant to streamline behavioral health treatment and screen primary care patients, and Bath Community Hospital in Hot Springs, Va., partnered with a pharmacy software company to ensure its uninsured and chronically ill populations have access to needed medications.
by Genevieve Diesing
Also in this weekly roundup of health care news: When rural hospitals close, the health implications are significant; the VA pilots behavioral health integrated model; and a small drug company tests waters of cholesterol medicine market.
The Texas A&M University Rural and Community Health Institute recently received a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration to create a technical advisory center for vulnerable rural hospitals.
A total of 64 rural hospitals closed between 2013 and 2017, more than twice the number during the prior five-year period.
The House of Representatives last night voted 361-61 to pass legislation to provide $178.1 billion in discretionary funding for the departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education in fiscal year 2019 and extend current funding levels for other federal programs until Dec. 7.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security yesterday held a hearing to examine health care experiences and costs in rural America.
House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) and member Adrian Smith (R-Neb.) yesterday urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to take AHA-supported action to continue to provide regulatory relief for rural providers.
The Senate today voted 93-7 to pass legislation that would provide $178.1 billion in discretionary funding for the departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education in fiscal year 2019 and extend current funding levels for other federal programs until Dec. 7.
The Federal Communications Commission today agreed to seek comments for 30 days on creating a new $100 million Connected Care Pilot Program to support telehealth for low-income Americans, especially those living in rural areas and veterans.
The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology today held a hearing examining challenges and solutions related to the issue of rural broadband.
The AHA today submitted comments on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ inpatient prospective payment system proposed rule for fiscal year 2019, offering key recommendations with respect to Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospital payment, CAR T-cell therapy, rural hospitals, the wage index, hospital quality reporting and value programs, and electronic health information exchange.
The Federal Communications Commission commissioners have voted unanimously to approve Chairman Ajit Pai’s order that will increase funding for the Rural Health Care Program by $171 million, as urged by the AHA.
Eligible organizations can apply through July 30 for up to $200,000 in fiscal year 2018 funding to develop opioid use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery plans for high-risk rural communities, the Health Resources and Services Administration announced.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai today, as urged by the AHA, asked his colleagues to approve quickly an order that would increase funding for the Rural Health Care Program by $171 million.
The Bipartisan Budget Act retroactively extended the enhanced low-volume payment adjustment, which provides an add-on payment to qualifying low-volume hospitals to help improve access to care in rural areas.
The Senate Finance Committee today held a hearing on “Rural Health Care in America: Challenges and Opportunities.”
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee today held a hearing on how to address the growing shortage of physicians, nurses and other health care professionals, especially in rural areas, as the U.S. population ages.
Health care is changing as the march from volume to value moves forward. And hospitals and health systems are redefining the “H” to meet the demands of the moment, and of the future, in a way that is even more responsive to our patients and communities.