Becker's Healthcare January 8, 2026
CMS seeks to remove regulatory friction around how clinicians practice and move across state lines as part of its $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program.
The agency explicitly incorporated scope-of-practice reform and licensure compacts into its funding methodology for the program, signaling that workforce flexibility is now central to rural access, capacity and sustainability, alongside infrastructure stabilization.
The move aligns with CMS’ broader acknowledgment that physician shortages — particularly in rural primary care — cannot be solved by physician supply alone. CMS notes these challenges must be addressed through expanded roles for physician assistants, nurse practitioners and pharmacists, as well as faster clinician mobility across states.
“These physician supply challenges could be mitigated, especially in the context of primary...
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