Jocelyn Richgels, director of national policy programs for the University of Iowa-based Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI), was one of a small number of rural health advocates, researchers, and providers at a recent Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services listening session on rural health transformation. The meeting took place on Dec. 3, 2018, at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services headquarters in Washington, D.C.

During the session, Richgels shared information from recent RUPRI rural health policy briefs with CMS Administrator Seema Verma. Ms. Verma highlighted CMS’s goal to more fully implement recommendations from the recently released CMS Rural Health Strategy. The CMS rural health strategy is intended to provide direction on health care issues to ensure the nearly one in five Americans who live in rural areas have access to care that meets their needs.