Rural Health Clinic Advocates Host Record-Setting Capitol Hill Day
Mo Sullivan, Government Affairs Associate, NARHC
Member Selena Gurley and NARHC intern Julia Wiedmer meet with U.S. Senator Katie Britt to discuss key policy priorities.
On June 25th, more than 60 RHC advocates from across the country united for a historic day of action at NARHC’s 2025 Policy Summit.
Policy Summit attendees met with over 130 Congressional offices to discuss various RHC policy priorities: fixing and extending Medicare telehealth flexibilities, addressing the disproportionately low reimbursements from Medicare Advantage contracts, reducing a plethora of regulatory burdens, protecting the Medicaid program from programmatic reforms that will result in immense coverage loss, and maintaining integral rural programs through appropriations.
"This marked the day ‘RHC’ was mentioned more on Capitol Hill than any other day in history," said NARHC’s Executive Director, Nathan Baugh.
Member Jennifer Rosario, had the opportunity to connect with Senator Dave McCormick and share her perspectives.
To keep the Policy Summit momentum going, an additional 800 messages were sent to Congress that day from RHCs across the country. Since then, hundreds more have followed.
“NARHC is thankful for everyone who engaged in RHC advocacy on June 25th, whether by taking Hill meetings in Washington, DC or sending messages to Congress from home,” said NARHC’s Director of Government Affairs, Sarah Hohman. “There is a lot at stake for the RHC community right now, so these advocacy efforts are both urgent and vital to the future of the RHC program.”
Of the 60+ advocates, about half were returning Policy Summit advocates, and the other half were first-time attendees. “Seeing everyone come together to fight for the Rural Health Community has been amazing. I will be attending every year and be happy knowing that I am able to make my voice heard,” said one first-time Policy Summit attendee.
The 2025 Policy Summit more than doubled in size from the previous year, and NARHC is excited to see it continue to grow and remain a valuable resource for the RHC community.
One Policy Summit attendee, a physician at a Rural Health Clinic, shared prior to his Hill visits, “I am particularly interested in going to talk to Policymakers, members of Congress, and their staff because if we change policy we help people get better health care. Then we can bring Health Care to a lot more people.”
Member Erin Aune brought rural voices to the forefront during meetings with Senator Tim Sheehy, Congressman Troy Downing, Congressman Ryan Zinke, and Senator Steve Daines.
For folks interested in remaining engaged in advocacy, please visit our Policy and Advocacy page and review our active advocacy campaigns here.
With any questions, please contact NARHC’s Government Affairs Associate, Mo Sullivan, at Mo.Sullivan@narhc.org.
NARHC hopes to see you at the 2026 Policy Summit!
Sincerely,
NARHC’s Washington, DC team
