Commissioners outline rural-health priorities after North Central Health Summit

Commissioners described outcomes from the recent North Central Health Summit and said county leaders will continue regional coordination and advocacy to sustain rural health services.

A commissioner who attended the summit summarized prioritized next steps identified by breakout work sessions: exploring alternate payment models for rural health; protecting and removing barriers to funding and reimbursement for critical access hospitals, federally qualified health centers and rural clinics; researching and developing sustainable family-friendly models of women's health care, including birthing centers and associated legal/regulatory work; and strengthening workforce recruitment and local retention through scholarships, incentive programs and training pipelines. "The top tier of ranking of those priorities for what is most critical ended up being exploring alternate payment models for rural health," the commissioner said.

Participants also prioritized expanding telemedicine, mobile care outreach, EMS reimbursement reform (House Bill 1152 was mentioned as part of state-level reimbursement conversation) and building EMS and health professional education capacity to retain local talent. The commissioners said workgroups will continue to refine next steps and the county hopes regional entities such as North Central will serve as a continuing conduit for collaboration.

The commissioners emphasized the need for a mix of funding strategies — state, federal and foundation dollars — and local advocacy to ensure rural communities receive flexible support. They also noted the county hosts an FQHC and regional rural-health consortia, which they said will be important partners in any implementation.

Next steps: work groups from the summit will continue developing priorities and implementation plans; commissioners said they will pursue legislative advocacy and local partnerships to advance the proposals.