

The Rural Health Clinic (RHC) program is intended to increase access to primary care services for Medicaid and Medicare patients in rural communities. RHCs can be public, nonprofit, or for-profit healthcare facilities, however, they must be located in rural, underserved areas. They are required to use a team approach of physicians working with non-physician practitioners such as nurse practitioners (NP), physician assistants (PA), and certified nurse midwives (CNM) to provide services. The clinic must be staffed at least 50% of the time with a NP, PA, or CNM. RHCs are required to provide outpatient primary care services and basic laboratory services.
The main advantage of RHC status is enhanced reimbursement rates for providing Medicaid and Medicare services.
Visit the links below for more information on the RHC program.
Check back soon for Michigan specific maps!
The Michigan Center for Rural Health has teamed up with The Altarum Institute to provide a Remote Operational Assessment Tool for Michigan Rural Health Clinics.
This online tool is designed to help practice managers and providers identify and isolate areas of improvement, specifically around core functions of a medical practice including:
After the assessment is completed by a representative from your organization, a healthcare performance improvement consultant will analyze the results. They will then provide a completed analysis, a detailed list of appropriate and issue specific best practices to implement, and one-on-one phone consultations to discuss the assessment and recommendations.
A rate of $400.00 was negotiated with Altarum, of which MCRH is supporting $300.00. The assessments will be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis, and a timeline for completion will be discussed with each RHC. 10-15 RHCs will be able to participate per quarter with a total of 50 RHCs able to participate.
Click Here to Complete Application
Jill Oesterle
Manager for Rural Health Clinic Services
(517) 353-6891
Jillynn.Oesterle@hc.msu.edu