Alan Morgan, CEO of the National Rural Health Association, says telehealth holds significant potential to save the future of rural healthcare. However, ongoing problems such as spotty broadband access, poor digital literacy and inadequate communication are preventing utilization from becoming widespread across rural communities.

Many physicians and leaders in health care are eager to help their organizations address health inequities, but it can be tough to know how to turn those good intentions into concrete, effective actions.

“With a record-breaking total of over 35 million people who now have health coverage, thanks to the Affordable Care Act, America’s uninsured rate is nearing an all-time low,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. 

Accountable care organizations may replace the fee-for-service model. Here's why that's concerning:  CMS plans to enroll everyone in this new model by the end of this decade--and as early as next year, in some cases--without prior consent. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has developed a Behavioral Health Strategy, which seeks to remove barriers to care and services, and to adopt a data-informed approach to evaluate behavioral health programs and policies.

The bipartisan bill introduced by Reps. Doris Matsui, D-California, and Markwayne Mullin, R-Oklahoma, aims to give targeted funding to providers and community mental health centers aimed at adopting health IT systems.