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Rural Health
News by Topic: Legislation and regulations

Apr 26, 2024 - Announcement from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of receipt of an application for continued recognition of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) as a national accrediting organization providing home infusion therapy services that wish to participate in the Medicare or Medicaid programs. Comments are due by May 28, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
Apr 26, 2024 - Notice of final rule from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) modifying the Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information (Privacy Rule). This rule limits the circumstances in which provisions of the Privacy Rule permit the use or disclosure of an individual's protected health information (PHI) about reproductive healthcare for certain non-healthcare purposes that could be detrimental to privacy of the individual or another person or the individual's trust in their healthcare providers. This rule is effective June 25, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
Apr 25, 2024 - Discusses new regulations for staffing minimums for nursing homes including analysis of rural-specific provisions. Offers staffing data for South Carolina nursing homes.
Source: South Carolina Daily Gazette
Apr 25, 2024 - Announcement from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of receipt of an application from Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies (AABB) for re-approval as an accreditation organization for clinical laboratories under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) program for several specialty and subspecialty laboratories. CMS has re-approved AABB as an accreditation organization under CLIA and grants deeming authority for 6 years through April 25, 2030.
Source: Federal Register
Apr 23, 2024 - Announces $700 million in funding for tribal communities for water and sewage infrastructure as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Also announces a partnership between the Bureau of Reclamation and the Indian Health Service (IHS) as well as a partnership between the United States Public Health Services (USPHS) Commissioned Corps and IHS. The partnerships will address barriers in access to resources as well as public health workforce needs.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Apr 23, 2024 - Notice of final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) revising regulations for Medicare Advantage (Part C), Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit (Part D), Medicare cost plan, and Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). Revisions include Star Ratings, marketing and communications, agent/broker compensation, health equity, dual-eligible special needs plans (D-SNPs), utilization management, network adequacy, and other programmatic areas. These regulations are effective June 3, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
Apr 23, 2024 - Pre-publication notice of final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) implementing improvements to increase transparency and accountability, standardize data and monitoring, and create opportunities for States to promote active beneficiary engagement in their Medicaid programs, with the goal of improving access to care. These regulations are effective 60 days after the publication of this notice, which is scheduled for May 10, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
Apr 23, 2024 - Pre-publication notice of final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) advancing CMS' efforts to improve access to care, quality and health outcomes, and better address health equity issues for Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) managed care enrollees. This rule specifically addresses standards for timely access to care and States' monitoring and enforcement efforts, reduces burden for some State directed payments and certain quality reporting requirements, adds new standards that will apply when States use in lieu of services and settings (ILOSs) to promote effective utilization and specify the scope and nature of ILOS, specifies medical loss ratio (MLR) requirements, and establishes a quality rating system for Medicaid and CHIP managed care plans. These regulations are effective July 9, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
Apr 23, 2024 - Pre-publication notice of final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) establishing minimum staffing standards for long-term care facilities. This rule also requires states to report the percentage of Medicaid payments for certain Medicaid-covered institutional services that are spent on compensation for direct care workers and support staff. These regulations are effective on June 21, 2024, except for § 483.71, § 483.35(b)(1) and (c)(1), § 483.35(b)(1)(i) and (ii), and §§ 438.72(a) and 442.43 as indicated.
Source: Federal Register
Apr 22, 2024 - Offers review of a new rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services regarding staffing minimums in nursing homes. The new standard is expected to require most nursing homes to increase staff. Discusses the rural-specific timeline for meeting the standard in addition to the impact on wages, workforce shortages, and Medicaid reimbursement.
Source: KFF Health News