Advocacy Outreach
NOSORH invites its partners and the partners of any of the fifty State Offices of Rural Health to join our advocacy efforts.
The 2023 advocacy priorities of NOSORH are to:
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- increase appropriation of State Offices of Rural Health to $18 million
- reauthorize the State Flex program to ensure vital statistics to an array of rural health stakeholders
Factsheets
State Flex Program Reauthorization
In the 117th Congress, H.R. 6400, the Save Rural Hospitals Act, was introduced by Rep Sam Graves (R-MO) and Jared Huffman (D-CA). Title IV of this bill reauthorized and modernized the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) program. We ask that Congress introduce and pass this Flex modernization language in the 118th Congress.
State Offices of Rural Health Appropriations Request
In December 2022, Congress reauthorized the SORH program and the President signed the bill into law as Public Law No: 117-356. This law authorizes the SORH program through fiscal year 2027, however, additional funding is needed for the state offices. Through the annual appropriations process, we ask Congress to increase the funding for SORH’s to $15 million in Fiscal Year 2025.
Establishing Statutory Authority for RCORP
The Rural Communities Opioids Response Program (RCORP) has effectively improved access to behavioral health services in rural areas since 2018, receiving bipartisan support in Congress. However, its future remains uncertain without established statutory authority. As Congress considers broader reauthorization of the SUPPORT Act (H.R. 6 – 115th Congress), a formal authorization would allow RCORP to be more formally aligned with related programs while also continuing to meet the evolving and unique needs of rural communities.
Outreach