Office of Rural Health Policy

The Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) is a part of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

HRSA is the lead federal agency responsible for monitoring and improving historically scarce health care services for 60 million people living in rural areas. In financial year 2008, HRSA invested $175 million to improve health care in rural America, where access to medical services is often limited. ORHP is the lead office for coordinating and carrying out these grant activities, which help fund Critical Access Hospitals and other rural hospitals, Community Health Centers, Rural health clinics, and other rural providers of health care.

In addition, the office serves as a “policy voice” within HHS to make sure regulatory actions take into account the special conditions faced by rural health care providers. The Director of ORHP is currently Tom Morris, who took over for Dr. Marcia Brand in 2008.

Congress created the ORHP in 1987 and charged HRSA with advising the HHS Secretary on health care matters affecting rural hospitals, coordinating activities that related to rural health care, and maintaining a national information clearinghouse for state governments, federal policymakers, and providers. Congress was concerned that the proceeding decades had seen many rural hospitals close and that there was a lack of coordination within the Federal Government for rural health activities.

HRSA funds state-run Offices of Rural Health in each of the 50 states to collect and disseminate health-related information about rural areas, provide technical assistance to rural providers and hospitals, and work with communities to recruit and retain health providers. In addition, ORHP provides technical assistance and funding to state rural health associations through a partnership with the National Rural Health Association.

Through the Outreach and Network Development grant programs, HRSA funds improve the delivery of rural health care by encouraging greater collaboration and the creation of networks among local health care providers. Agency funds also strengthen “Critical Access Hospitals,” small rural institutions that serve as key access points for Medicare beneficiaries. Other grants help rural hospitals and clinics acquire computer file-sharing systems and telemedicine equipment, which allows physician-to-physician and doctor-patient consultations over great distances.

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