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States will be able to apply in early September for a portion of a $50 billion fund designed to help rural hospitals weather federal funding cuts, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator, said Sunday. The rural health fund was created after concerns were raised about the impact of Medicaid and Medicare cuts in President Trump’s tax law. (DeSilva, 8/4)

Hundreds of urban hospitals have taken advantage of a 2016 policy change that allows them to be simultaneously classified by Medicare as rural and urban facilities for payment purposes, according to a new study. Compared to three geographically urban hospitals that picked up dual classifications in 2017, 425 existing urban hospitals had obtained both administrative designations in 2023, Johns Hopkins University and Brown University researchers wrote in Health Affairs. About three-quarters of these were nonprofits, and several were large academic medical centers located in metropolitan areas. (Muoio, 8/4)

Half of the $50 billion fund will be evenly distributed to states without accounting for factors like population size. In fact, this means that some of them—such as Wyoming and North Dakota—may receive more from the rural health fund than they lose in federal Medicaid funding. On the flip side, the $50 billion fund would leave other states—such as Kentucky, Washington, and Oregon—in the red. By McBride’s calculations, Wyoming is in an enviable position, potentially receiving stands to cover 1,453 percent of what the state loses in Medicaid cuts. Meanwhile, Kentucky is expected to lose $5.4 billion through the cuts and gain only $1.9 billion from the fund, covering just 36 percent of the state’s losses. Coincidentally, the states that stand to gain the most from this half of the rural health fund’s distribution are governed by Republicans, and the states that stand to lose the most are not. (Vesoulis, 8/4)

The Association of American Medical Colleges endorsed the 340B Pharmaceutical Access to Invest in Essential, Needed Treatments and Support Act, legislation that would amend the 340B statute to confirm that covered entities can use contract pharmacies to dispense outpatient drugs. The AAMC on July 31 sent a letter to Sen. Peter Welch and Rep. Doris Matsui supporting the bill, outlining the importance of contract pharmacy arrangements. The legislation also has drawn support from the American Hospital Association and 340B Health, according to an Aug. 1 news release from the AAMC. (Murphy, 8/4)

On the same day last week that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rolled out plans to ease the flow of health information, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT made two fairly significant announcements at an event in the Eisenhower building. “The first was that we were going to continue our work on certification, and that this was going to include certification of APIs to improve interoperability,” Tom Keane told Ruth. “The other thing I talked about is how we were going to enforce the information blocking.” (Reader, 8/4)

Many seniors enjoy the perks that come with Medicare Advantage. But those extras—like dental coverage and free gym memberships—are being scaled back. Insurers are cutting benefits and exiting from unprofitable markets, and Wall Street is cheering them on. Once rewarded by investors for rapid expansion in the lucrative privatized Medicare program, companies are now being applauded for showing restraint amid rising medical costs and lower government payments. (Wainer, 8/5)

A tumultuous insurance market could provide expansion opportunities for integrated health systems. Some national insurers are scaling back as they manage rising costs and face Medicaid funding cuts, tougher federal oversight and a potential spike in the uninsured population. Their retrenching could allow integrated health systems to grow insurance businesses and brace for the looming cuts, health system executives and merger and acquisition advisers said — if they’re willing to take on risk. (Kacik, 8/4)