September 8, 2025 News Update: What to Know about the Rural Health Transformation Fund, Reclassified Urban Hospitals & Organ Transplant Accountability

Rural Health News is a weekly segment of Rural Health Today, a podcast by Hillsdale Hospital.

Check out the Organ Transplant Surveillance Dashboard: hdw.hrsa.gov/t/HDW/views/AOOS-NonUseDashboard/AOOS-NonUseDashboard?%3Aembed=y" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://tableau.hdw.hrsa.gov/t/HDW/views/AOOS-NonUseDashboard/AOOS-NonUseDashboard?%3Aembed=y

Read the study on urban hospitals reclassifying as rural: jhu.edu/2025/urban-hospitals-increasingly-reclassified-as-rural" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/urban-hospitals-increasingly-reclassified-as-rural

News sources for this episode:

Diane Eastabrook, “Home health groups press for a piece of rural health funding,” September 2, 2025, modernhealthcare.com/post-acute-care/mh-rural-health-transformation-fund-home-health/," target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.modernhealthcare.com/post-acute-care/mh-rural-health-transformation-fund-home-health/, Modern Healthcare.

National Rural Health Association, “Rural Health Transformation Program Summary,” ruralhealth.us/nationalruralhealth/media/documents/advocacy/2025/rural-health-transformation-program-summary.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.ruralhealth.us/nationalruralhealth/media/documents/advocacy/2025/rural-health-transformation-program-summary.pdf

Lindsey Culli,  “Urban Hospitals Increasingly Reclassified as Rural, Drawing Medicare Benefits Meant for Rural Communities,” August 1, 2025, jhu.edu/2025/urban-hospitals-increasingly-reclassified-as-rural," target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/urban-hospitals-increasingly-reclassified-as-rural, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Yang Wang et. al, “Sharp Rise In Urban Hospitals With Rural Status In Medicare, 2017-23,” August 4, 2025, healthaffairs.org/doi/abs/10.1377/hlthaff.2025.00019?journalCode=hlthaff," target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/abs/10.1377/hlthaff.2025.00019?journalCode=hlthaff, Health Affairs.

Jamie Godwin et, al, “Medicare Advantage Enrollees Account for 25% of all Inpatient Hospital Days,” August 26, 2025, kff.org/medicare/medicare-advantage-enrollees-account-for-a-rising-share-of-inpatient-hospital-days/," target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.kff.org/medicare/medicare-advantage-enrollees-account-for-a-rising-share-of-inpatient-hospital-days/, Kaiser Family Foundation.

Arielle Zionts, “Rural Hospitals Questions Whether They Can Afford Medicare Advantage Contracts,” April 8, 2025, https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/rural-hospitals-private-medicare-advantage-contracts-reimbursements/, KFF Health News.

Madeline Ashley, “20 hospital closures in 2025,” August 25, 2025, beckershospitalreview.com/finance/2-hospital-closures-in-2025/," target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/2-hospital-closures-in-2025/, Becker’s Hospital Review.

Paige Twenter, “HHS expands oversight into organ transplant network,” August 29, 2025, beckershospitalreview.com/quality/patient-safety-outcomes/hhs-expands-oversight-into-organ-transplant-network/," target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/quality/patient-safety-outcomes/hhs-expands-oversight-into-organ-transplant-network/, Becker’s Clinical Leadership.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “HHS Expands Oversight of Organ Transplant System with New Surveillance Tool,” August 27, 2025, hhs.gov/press-room/hrsa-organ-allocation-dashboard.html." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/hrsa-organ-allocation-dashboard.html.

Rural Health Today is a production of Hillsdale Hospital in Hillsdale, Michigan and a member of the Health Podcast Network. Our host is JJ Hodshire, our producer is Kyrsten Newlon, and our audio engineer is Kenji Ulmer. Special thanks to our special guests for sharing their expertise on the show, and also to the Hillsdale Hospital marketing team. If you want to submit a question for us to answer on the podcast or learn more about Rural Health Today, visit ruralhealthtoday.com.