The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recognizes the unique needs and challenges of rural communities and the importance of rural providers in assuring access to health care. Critical access hospitals (CAHs), federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), and rural health clinics (RHCs) play an important role in the nation's health care delivery system by serving as safety net providers of primary care and other health care services in rural and other underserved areas and for low-income beneficiaries. On March 31, 2011, CMS released proposed new rules to help doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers better coordinate care for Medicare patients through Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs).

 

The proposed rule was published in the April 7, 2011 Federal Register.  Comments on the proposed rule will be accepted until June 6, 2011.  CMS will respond to all comments in a final rule to be issued later this year.

  

CMS encourages you to send in your comments. This is an opportunity to share your concerns, thoughts, and feedback. Please contact: CMS Office of Media Affairs at 202-690-6145.

  

So far, the health reform program to cover people with pre-existing medical conditions has drawn disappointingly few people.

Only 18,000 Americans have enrolled in the Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) since it debuted last year.

Georgia's number? Just 515, as of March 31. That's despite the fact that an estimated 20 percent of the state's residents, or about 1.9 million people, lacked health insurance in 2009, the latest year for which Census Bureau statistics are available.

  

  

National Rural Health Day is the major piece of a new NOSORH campaign to recognize and celebrate the Power of Rural! Our hope is to make National Rural Health Day an annual event that highlights rural communities as wonderful places to live and work; increases awareness of rural health-related issues; and promotes the efforts of SORHs and NOSORH in addressing those issues.

NOSORH recently met with several of its closest rural partners to seek their feedback regarding National Rural Health Day. The National Rural Health Association, Rural Recruitment and Retention Network, National Cooperative of Health Networks and Office of Rural Health Policy provided suggestions for refining the proposed key messages and indicated a willingness to encourage their members and partners to join the celebration as well.

Stay tuned for more information and resources throughout the summer and at the NOSORH Annual Meeting in September. In the meantime, NOSORH is asking SORHs to be prepared to

 · Share the news - tell your partners, media contacts, etc. (NOSORH will provide a fact sheet and generic media releases)

· Seek gubernatorial/legislative proclamations (NOSORH will provide template)

· Put the National Rural Health Day logo on your website

· Celebrate on November 17 (which could be as simple as answering your phones by saying "Happy National Rural Health Day")

Feel free to contact NOSORH Communications Coordinator Bill Hessert or Communications Committee Co-chair Karen Madden