The Rural Blog

A digest of events, trends, issues, ideas and journalism from and about rural America, by the Institute for Rural Journalism, based at the University of Kentucky. Links may expire, require subscription or go behind pay walls. Please send news and knowledge you think would be useful to benjy.hamm@uky.edu.

The Rural Blog

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After being dropped by their Medicare Advantage Plan, millions of seniors were left scrambling for health insurance

Lawmakers and health groups pushback on Rural Health Transformation Program plans and limits

Wyoming officials aim to keep the state's Rural Health Transformation Program award going in 'perpetuity'

States receive notice of how much money they will receive from the $10 billion Rural Health Transformation Program

A Medicare pilot program will use artificial intelligence for prior authorizations. Doctors and lawmakers are alarmed.

While details of rural health transformation requests aren't available yet, some states are sharing their information

A rural hospital in California closes after federal officials strip 'critical access' designation it has held since 2000

Rural hospitals in Arkansas find different ways to stay open and still serve their communities

Hundreds of rural hospitals are 'vulnerable to closure' and 46% operate in the red, new report finds

Three ways the new administration could help rural America meet its challenges

Medicare will save billions from its first-ever drug price negotiations with pharmaceutical companies

After its hospital closed, N.C. county works to be the first in the nation to reopen its hospital under ER-only designation

Half of rural hospitals lose money; consultancy estimates 418 could close, citing Medicare Advantage as big issue

Dialysis centers have increasingly moved into rural areas, but travel still remains an obstacle, a new study finds

Proposed new rules for nursing homes have sparked warnings and fear; rural residents are the most vulnerable

When to get which vaccine and how to get insurance to pay for it has some Americans ditching vaccines

How rural hospitals are fighting Medicare Advantage

Proposal for more nursing-home staff seen as unattainable by many owners; resident advocates say it's not enough

Feds propose the first minimum-staffing rules for nursing homes, and they are weaker than the industry expected

Advocacy group says over 30% of rural hospitals are at risk of closing, many immediately; publishes financial data