Read this in your browser April 16, 2026What's NewAmbulance Deserts and Health Care Deserts. Access to timely ambulance service is an essential part of the emergency medical system. Yet ambulance access varies widely with significant gaps across the country. This research from the FORHP-supported Rural Health Research Gateway identifies places and people that are more than 25 minutes from an ambulance station, also called an ambulance desert, across 41 states. The maps include the locations of hospitals, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs). Researchers at the Maine Rural Health Research Center built this work on their 2023 chartbook Ambulance Deserts: Geographic Disparities in the Provision of Ambulance Services. Strategies for Critical Access Hospital Financial and Operational Performance Improvement: A Systematic Review. The FORHP supported Flex Monitoring Team synthesizes evidence from the literature to highlight practical, hospital-level approaches that can help strengthen rural hospitals, improve financial performance, and preserve access to care. Save the Date: 2026 TeleBehavioral Health Summit. April 23-24. The University of Washington Behavioral Health Institute, in partnership with the Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center (NRTRC) – a partner funded by HRSA’s Office for the Advancement of Telehealth – is offering a free, two-day virtual conference that aims to gather national experts, clinicians, policy stakeholders, and thought leaders to discuss artificial intelligence and digital innovation in behavioral health care. Attendees will also learn how AI is shaping behavioral health in today’s health care landscape, and how providers can engage with these tools safely, ethically, and effectively. Registration is required to attend.
Funding and OpportunitiesVA Highly Rural Transportation Grants Program – May 4. These grants from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provide transportation support in counties with fewer than seven people per square mile. Veterans Service Organizations or State Veterans Service Agency can apply. If you think this could benefit your community, you can find the eligible applicant near you. DOL Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Indian and Native American Program - Employment and Training Grants – May 22. The Employment and Training Administration at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) provides grants to support employment and training activities for Native Americans in the areas of healthcare, manufacturing, IT, energy, and other industries. Indian Health Service Capital Infrastructure Program – May 30. The IHS provides funding for improvements to existing tribal healthcare facilities that reduce energy and water use, lower operating and utility costs, improve indoor environmental quality, and incorporate current energy efficiency codes and standards. USDA Delta Health Care Services Grant Program – June 1. Rural Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides grants to address unmet health needs within the counties and parishes of the Delta Region. The funding is intended to promote collaboration between healthcare professionals, institutions of higher education, research institutions, and economic development entities. FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Grants – July 23. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides grants for upgrades to infrastructure at the community level that reduce risk in future disasters. Priority is given for projects that benefit specific communities, including rural areas. Eligibility includes federally recognized Tribal Nations. The RHIHub Emergency Preparedness Toolkit could provide some insights for application preparation. EPA Real Water Technical Assistance (RealWaterTA) – Ongoing. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides technical assistance to support drinking water and wastewater systems using proven, best-practice approaches that will most effectively address local needs while partnering with states and Tribes. Assistance will benefit water systems across the country, especially in rural areas where small systems face challenges operating and maintaining vital water infrastructure.
Rural Health ResearchResearch in this section is located on the HRSA/FORHP-supported Rural Health Research Gateway. Sign up to receive alerts when new publications become available. Identification and Characteristics of Under-Resourced and High-Need Rural Counties provides a metric describing how publicly available county-level data can assist policymakers in identifying the highest need counties for targeted policy initiatives and public health intervention. Trends Among Medicare Special Needs Plan Enrollment in Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Areas. Special Needs Plans (SNPs) are Medicare Advantage (MA) plans that provide benefits and services to people with specific conditions, health care needs, or who also have Medicaid. Established by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, the SNP program was initially set to expire in 2008, but the program has seen multiple extensions and been subject to a number of changes since that time. This brief examines recent trends in MA SNP enrollment by type and geographic variation across metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. Alcohol Use Disorder and Marijuana Use Disorder Among Adolescents and Young Adults Aged 12 to 24 in the Rural and Urban U.S., 2021 describes the past-year prevalence of alcohol use disorder and marijuana use disorder among adolescents and young adults in rural and urban counties and across census divisions, in 2021. The report features statistics with breakdowns by seven levels of population density. County-Level Differences in Health Professional Shortage Areas by Rurality, Age, and Disability Status. Access to quality health care is shaped in part by the availability of medical professionals for a given population and geography, and Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) designations can be a useful indicator to measure this provider access. While differences in health care access are well explained for both disability and rurality throughout literature using HPSAs, there are fewer studies which investigate differences in health care access at the intersection of rurality and disability across the working-age adult and older adult experience. This study addresses that gap.
Policy UpdatesSend questions to ruralpolicy@hrsa.gov. CMS Proposes Updates to Medicare Inpatient Hospital Payments for FY 2027. Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and the Long-term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System Proposed Rule. In addition to proposing a 2.4 percent increase to hospital payments, CMS proposes updates to several quality reporting programs as well as the Promoting Interoperability Program. They also propose updating the rules for identifying new residency programs by requiring that at least 90 percent of residents must not have previous experience training in another program in the same specialty, with exceptions for small programs, displaced residents, and those placed through a binding matching program. CMS Proposed Collection in Self-Attestation for Recertification of CORFs, OPT/SLP, RHC Providers and PXR Suppliers – Comment by June 9. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) seeks comments on a proposed information collection as part of a new program to allow Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Facility (CORFs), Outpatient Physical Therapy/Speech Language Pathology (OPT/SLP), Rural Health Clinic (RHC) Providers, and Portable X-Ray (PXR) Suppliers to attest to meeting the applicable CMS Conditions of Participation in lieu of undergoing a recertification survey by state survey agencies every six years. CMS has developed individual attestations forms for the CORF, OPT/SLO, RHC and PXR providers/supplies. And these providers and suppliers should complete and submit the appropriate form prior to their recertification due date. A properly completed and timely submitted form will be accepted by the state agency in lieu of a survey. Comments are due June 9. CMS Proposes New Interoperability Standards and Prior Authorization for Drugs – Comment by June 15. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) seeks public input on new requirements for Interoperability Standards and Prior Authorization for Drugs for Medicare Advantage Organizations, Medicaid Managed Care Plans, State Medicaid Agencies, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Agencies and CHIP Managed Care Entities, and Issuers of Qualified Health Plans on the Federally-Facilitated Exchanges. Proposals would require impacted payers to support electronic prior authorization for drugs, shorten decision timeframes, and increase transparency around authorization decisions. Also, the Office of the National Coordinator is using this rulemaking to propose adoption of updated versions of certain health information technology standards and specifications to be used across the Department of Health and Human Services, such as CMS's interoperability requirements.
Approaching DeadlinesHRSA National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Scholarship Program – April 16 Request for Information: HRSA 340B Rebate Model Pilot Program – Deadline extended to April 20 SAMHSA Implementing Zero Suicide in Health Systems – April 20 DOJ Adult Treatment Court Program – April 27 DOJ Bureau of Justice Assistance: Programs to Supplement Rural SUD Efforts – Initiate application by April 27 CDC Million Hearts Hypertension Control Challenge – April 30 VA Highly Rural Transportation Grants Program – May 4 CMS Now Accepting Applications for the LEAD Model for ACOs – May 17 Become a New Site for the National Health Service Corps – May 19 DOL Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Indian and Native American Program - Employment and Training Grants – May 22 DOT’s Safe Streets for All Grant Program – May 26 Indian Health Service Capital Infrastructure Program – May 30 CMS Proposes Updates for the FY 2027 Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System – Comment by June 1 Proposed 2027 Hospice Rule: Higher Payments Paired with New Oversight Tools – Comment by June 1 CMS Proposes Updates for the FY 2027 Inpatient Rehabilitation Prospective Payment System Facilities – Comment by June 1 CMS Releases 2027 Medicare Inpatient Psychiatric Facility Prospective Payment System Proposed Rule - Comment by June 1 USDA Delta Health Care Services Grant Program – June 1 CMS Proposed Collection in Self-Attestation for Recertification of CORFs, OPT/SLP, RHCs Providers and PXR Suppliers – Comment by June 9 CMS Proposes New Interoperability Standards and Prior Authorization for Drugs – Comment by June 15 FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Grants – July 23 NIH Native Collective Research Effort to Enhance Wellness (N CREW) Phase II – July 31 Forecasted OpportunitiesHRSA Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) - Planning – Estimated Post Date April 17 HRSA Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) – Impact – Estimated Post Date April 17 HRSA Rural Residency Planning and Development (RRPD) Program – Estimated Post Date April 21 HRSA Delta Rural Integrated Health Network Program – Estimated Post Date April 24
Ongoing Opportunities - Updated March 2026Administration for Children & Families: Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency – Rural Emergency Medical Communications Demonstration Project Delta Region Community Health Systems Development Program EPA Real Water Technical Assistance (RealWaterTA) General Services Administration: Federal Surplus Property Available for Public Use HRSA Needs Rural Reviewers for Grant Applications HRSA National Health Service Corps Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Training HRSA Look-Alike Initial Designation for the Health Center Program Indian Health Service/Department of Defense: Medical Supplies and Equipment for Tribes (Project TRANSAM) Licensure Portability: The Multi-Discipline Licensure Resource Project National Rural Health Resource Center: Rural Hospital Stabilization Program ProviderBridge: Mobilizing Health Care Workforce via Telehealth Rural Graduate Medical Education Planning and Development Small Business Administration Rural Businesses Small Business Administration Guaranteed Loans for Small Business Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration/Federal Emergency Management Agency/: Post-Disaster Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program Targeted Technical Assistance for Rural Hospitals Program USDA: National School Lunch Afterschool Snack Program USDA: Summer Food Service Program USDA/National Rural Health Association: Rural Hospital Technical Assistance USDA Rural Development: America’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative USDA Rural Development: Circuit Rider Program – Technical Assistance for Rural Water Systems USDA Rural Development: Community Facilities Programs USDA Rural Development: Emergency Community Water Assistance Grants USDA Rural Development: Grants for Rural and Native Alaskan Villages USDA Rural Development: Intermediary Relending Program – Ongoing with deadlines every quarter USDA Rural Development: Multifamily Housing Loan Guarantees USDA Rural Development: Rural Business Investment Program USDA Rural Development: Rural Energy Savings Program USDA Rural Development: SEARCH – Special Evaluation Assistance for Rural Communities and Households (for Water/Waste Projects) USDA Rural Development: Telecommunications Infrastructure Loans and Loan Guarantees U.S. Department of Transportation: Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success (R.O.U.T.E.S) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Drinking Water State Revolving Fund U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: Physical Therapy Telehealth Research Study for Older Veterans – Ongoing until October 2026 UVM Center on Rural Addiction Contingency Management Certificate Course |
