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The Department of Veterans Affairs will expand its Oracle Health EHR system to nine additional medical centers and their associated clinics in 2026. These additions bring the total number of facilities scheduled to adopt the federal EHR system in 2026 to 13, including four Michigan sites announced in December 2024. The VA expects full implementation across all its facilities as early as 2031.
Details and guidelines handed down by the federal government earlier this month on applications for the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program appear to have found a warm reception among state government officials, who said they appreciate the detailed criteria, built-in flexibilities and “once in a generation opportunity” to bolster care in their rural communities.
A team of healthcare researchers has studied the challenges facing the rural hospital sector and has published an op-ed in the JAMA Network online about the subject. The researchers conclude that the patchwork quilt of policy and reimbursement supports that has evolved forward over the years to help prop up rural hospitals is inadequate to secure their future. The researchers advocate for an entirely new payment model for rural hospitals, based either on some form of global budgeting, or on value-based capitation.
The current state of the Medicare Part D market is a mixed bag, with premiums declining but many payers scaling back options, according to a new analysis from KFF. The report noted that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services put an emphasis on "stability" in Part D when it announced premium estimates in late September, but KFF found that the total number of stand-alone Part D plans available will decrease in 2026, marking the third straight year of shrinking plan options.
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