The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Rural Health Council is hosting public, virtual listening sessions to ensure the CMS Rural Health Strategy reflects the needs and priorities of those living and working in rural and frontier communities, including Tribal Nations and U.S. territories.

CMS invites you to join a listening session to provide your feedback on the current Rural Health Strategy and help improve CMS’s approach to advancing rural health. All listening sessions will be held virtually, and dates are specific to your area. These sessions are meant for individuals with lived experience receiving health care or supporting healthcare service delivery in rural communities, including Tribal Nations and U.S. territories.

Prior to the listening session, you are encouraged to review the CMS Rural Health Strategy, and be prepared to speak to the following topic areas during the call:

• Which of the CMS Rural Health Strategy objectives should CMS continue to prioritize?
• What is missing from the current CMS Rural Health Strategy objectives?
• What can CMS do to advance health equity for rural and frontier communities, including Tribal Nations and U.S. territories?

Please plan to attend the session that pertains to your CMS region, see information below. Listening sessions are open to the public to attend. If you have any questions about the CMS Rural Health Strategy listening sessions, please send to:  [email protected].

Listening Session #1: CMS Regions 5, 7 and 8

Relevant States & Territories: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming

Date/Time: Tuesday, May 10^th at 4:00pm EDT

Registration Link: https://mitre.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJItdu6gpzoqEql0y5zRASjQwl-W6eZVFGQ

Listening Session #2: CMS Region 4, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands

Relevant States & Territories: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands

Date/Time: Wednesday, May 11^th at 12:00pm EDT

Registration Link: https://mitre.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJIscuyhpz0uEmytheojrwE3ZP4rtAtennw

Listening Session #3: CMS Regions 6, 9, 10

Relevant States & Territories: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Guam, American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Date/Time: Thursday, May 12^th at 6:00PM EDT

Registration Link: https://mitre.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJItdOqgqz8uGxpNaDV6s8vQ1NYD1N3XapI

Listening Session #4: CMS Regions: 1,2,3 (excluding Puerto Rico & U.S. Virgin Islands, which will be included in Listening Session #2)

Relevant States & Territories: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, District of Columbia

Date/Time: Thursday, May 19^th at 4:00pm EDT

Registration Link: https://mitre.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJItc-uqpzsrHjuDEf1g07B4gJiEIDOkYWE