What You Should Know:
- The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is deploying a massive $50 billion investment across all 50 states to overhaul the nation's rural healthcare infrastructure starting in 2026.
- Under the guidance of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, the program prioritizes not just workforce expansion, but a significant technological shift toward AI adoption, cybersecurity resilience, and "food-as-medicine"
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rural health
$32.9M Investment: UArizona and Onvida Health Launch Rural Medical Branch to Solve Arizona’s Primary Care Crisis
What You Should Know:
- The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix and Onvida Health are partnering to launch Arizona's first rural regional medical school branch in Yuma County, targeting the state's severe physician shortage.
- The initiative, backed by a $32.9M commitment from Onvida Health, will feature a three-year Primary Care Accelerated Pathway leading to an M.D. degree. The program aims to train future primary care physicians who are committed to practicing in
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6 Communication Strategies to Improve Rural Health Outcomes
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), rural Americans have a higher risk of premature death from heart disease, cancer, respiratory disease, stroke, and unintentional injuries than urban residents. Challenges related to social determinants of health (SDOH) such as poverty, lack of healthy food options, and poor transportation contribute to the problem.
Access also remains a key hurdle. One in five Americans lives in a rural area, where provider shortages account
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Homeward and Meijer to Enhance Healthcare Access for Rural Michigan Seniors
What You Should Know:
- Homeward®, a technology-enabled rural health platform dedicated to expanding access to quality healthcare, and Meijer, a privately owned, family-operated Midwest retailer, today announced a strategic partnership aimed at improving healthcare access and care coordination for Medicare-eligible residents across Michigan.
- The strategic collaboration will leverage Meijer's extensive pharmacy network and Homeward's innovative health management platform to
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COVID-19 Health Systems Impact: What Will Stop The Cash Hemorrhage?
The material cost of COVID-19 has been at the center of public discourse since the early days of the pandemic. In 2020, growth in federal government spending on healthcare increased 36 percent, compared to the 5.9 percent bump in 2019. While the distribution of vaccines has allowed for a version of pre-pandemic life to resume, hospitals are still not recovered from the high rates of hospitalizations that occurred in March 2020, and the indirect costs of the pandemic continue to loom over the
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Convenient Scapegoat: Why Hesitancy is Not the Cause of Low Vaccination Rates in Africa
At this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, the topic of the COVID-19 pandemic and its destructive impact was central to many of the discussions that took place. Among them, was the issue of vaccine hesitancy around the world, especially in underdeveloped nations such as those in Africa. According to Africa CDC, as of September 2022, Africa, the second most-populated continent, has only vaccinated 21% of its people; an inadequate number In comparison to other populated countries such as India
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a16z Bio+ Health Partners with Bassett Health to Bring Digital Health Solutions to Rural New York
What You Should Know:
- Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Bio + Health fund today announced a strategic partnership with Bassett Healthcare Network, an integrated healthcare system in central New York state.
- The strategic partnership aims to leverage digital healthcare technologies from a16z’s portfolio companies to address the inequities and systemic challenges of delivering high-quality healthcare to rural patient populations through Bassett Healthcare Network.
Leveraging Digital Health to
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The Fast Pace of Cancer Research is Leaving Community Clinicians Behind
We are witnessing an accelerated pace of amazing breakthroughs and advancements in cancer care today, with new treatments emerging almost weekly and unprecedented opportunities to help improve patient outcomes every day. However, if a doctor is not working in an academic setting, reading every new paper, and recruiting patients for new studies, how can they be expected to keep up with the latest treatments and approaches to specific cancers? When
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Homeward Raises $50M, Inks Value-Based Contract with Priority Health
What You Should Know:
- Homeward raises $50M Series B funding round co-led by ARCH Venture Partners and Human Capital.
- The funding round also includes participation from General Catalyst, which led Homeward’s Series A funding, and Lee Shapiro and Glen Tullman, Co-Founders of 7wireVentures, one of the country’s most successful early-stage healthcare venture funds.
Value-Based and Comprehensive Care
Americans living in rural communities are experiencing increasing health disparities
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New Hospital-At-Home Study Focuses on Rural Health Deserts
What You Should Know:
- Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH), based in Lexington, Ky., will use Biofourmis’ virtual care and AI-based predictive analytics technology to support a new Rural Home Hospital program delivering acute hospital-level care inside patients’ homes--including a clinical trial studying this care model in rural areas.
- ARH joins Blessing Health System—which is also using Biofourmis’ solution—as one of only two U.S. participants
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