Stay healthy
- Recommendations for preventive measures
- Prevention tips and plain-language information
Why rural prevention now
More preventable deaths. Fewer places to get care.
Rural Americans are more likely to die early from causes that prevention can influence. At the same time, hospitals close and primary care is thin. Prevention has to reach people where they live.
46.2 million
people live in rural (nonmetro) counties, 13.6% of the U.S. population.
USDA ERS, 2026149.4 %
of early heart disease deaths in the most rural counties were potentially preventable, compared with 30.1% in large cities.
CDC MMWR, 2024 (2022 data)2197
rural hospitals have closed or converted since 2005, 109 of them completely.
Sheps Center, 2026366.5 %
of primary care Health Professional Shortage Areas are estimated to be rural.
Sheps Center, 20264
The Health Year
One year, twelve health topics. Delivered where people live.
Every participant starts with a personal risk profile. Each month the app covers one health topic with a risk check, support and a result. No travel, no waiting room.
1risk profile to start18health topics7lifestyle factors alongside
Lifestyle programs alongside
Seven lifestyle topics. Free to add in the app.
Alongside the twelve stages, seven lifestyle topics run all year. Residents choose matching 7-day programs themselves and start them right in the app, free of charge.
- Sleep
- Nutrition
- Physical activity
- Resilience
- Alcohol
- Smoking
- Immune system
Every stage follows the same principle.
Take a closer look
- Recommendation for further tests
- Information on possible consequences
- Recommendation to see a doctor if needed
See a doctor
- Clear recommendation to see a physician
- Information on the condition and treatment options
Population insights
See your region's health. Without seeing individuals.
Residents screen themselves, local care teams see findings that need attention, and program owners see data by county. Program owners only see de-identified, aggregated data.
Each resident on the map stands for many. Their checks flow into one de-identified regional report, shown only for groups of 10 or more.
Who sees what?
Many residents. One de-identified view.
Individual results
are visible only to the resident and their local care team.
Program owner
sees only de-identified, aggregated data by county or region, never individual data. Reports require a minimum group size of 10 people.
Voluntary
Participation is voluntary and requires each resident's consent.
Regional report 2026 · Sample Region
Adults enrolled
14%
▲ 5 points vs. first quarter
Completed screenings
31,600
18 topics
Findings routed to local care
412
to 6 care partners
Participation by county
Risk distribution, topic: heart
- No elevated risk 58%
- Moderate 31%
- High 11%
Topic focus
- Diabetes↑ rising
- Heart health↑ rising
- Anxiety→ stable
Adults enrolled over the year
Recommendations for next quarter
- Mobile screening day in Valley County
- More telehealth slots for diabetes follow-up
Reports cover groups of 10 or more people only. Individual results are never visible to the program owner.
- 1
Residents
screen themselves and see their own results.
- 2
Local care team
a rural health clinic, community health center or telehealth partner sees findings and invites people to follow-up care.
- 3
Program owner
a state, county or health plan receives de-identified reports by county with recommendations.
Access
Built for long distances. On any phone.
Residents use the Health Year in the myoncare app for iOS and Android or in the browser. Questionnaires, reminders and results arrive at home, without a trip to the clinic.
- Start with a QR codeOn posters and flyers in clinics, pharmacies, libraries or at community events.
- App or browserNative app and progressive web app on the resident's own device.
- Wearables & health dataConnects to Apple Health, Google Health and Withings.
- Check-ins & remindersShort check-ins and prompts between visits.
- Own resultsEvery resident sees their own results and progress.
- Secure exchangeChat, video visits and documents with the local care team when follow-up is needed.
Benefits
Good for residents. Measurable for the region.
For residents
Prevention that comes to them.
- Screening topics without travel or waiting rooms
- Personal recommendations instead of one-size-fits-all
- Free lifestyle programs in the same app
- Individual results stay private
For states, counties and health plans
Population health you can measure.
- Reach across counties, including people far from a clinic
- De-identified population data by county and age group
- Ready-made program, no IT build
- Data you can use for program and grant reporting
Funding pathways
Fits the Rural Health Transformation Program. And other routes.
The Rural Health Transformation Program gives states $50 billion over fiscal years 2026 to 2030. Two of its eleven permitted uses describe what the Health Year does.
$50B
for states, FY 2026–2030
States must use funds for at least three of eleven permitted uses. Two fit directly: prevention and chronic disease management, and consumer tech solutions such as apps for preventing and managing chronic disease. First-year awards averaged about $200 million per state.
KFF, 20265A population prevention program
State offices of rural health and county health departments can offer the Health Year to all adult residents of a region, with reporting by county.
Set-up agreed per programPart of prevention and care management
State Medicaid agencies, managed care plans and other health plans can include it in prevention and care management programs for rural members. Rules vary by state.
Review per state and planBetween visits, close to home
Critical access hospitals, rural health clinics and community health centers can use it to reach patients between visits and as part of community health programs.
Set-up agreed per programNot legal or funding advice. Whether the Health Year fits a state's approved RHTP plan depends on that plan. We review the options with you.
Reach & budget estimator
What does prevention cost per resident?
Four inputs give a first estimate for your region. The model shows reach, cost and a transparent break-even. It does not promise savings.
Annual program cost
$600,000
for 10,000 participants
Cost per adult resident · year
–
across the whole region
Cost per participant · year
–
billed per participant
- Participants–
- Completed topic checks per year–
- Break-even: avoided preventable stays per year–
- Break-even per 1,000 participants–
Pricing: Billed per participant per month, so the program owner pays only for residents who take part. The $5 price used here is indicative.
Illustrative model. Break-even shows how many avoided stays would offset the program cost. It is not a forecast.
Assumptions, formula and sources
| Input | Assumption | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Adults in the region | Default 50,000 | Example region of several rural counties; rural (nonmetro) population in total: 46.2 million1 |
| Participation | Default 20% | Own assumption. Conventional wellness programs often reach fewer than 20% of those eligible7 |
| Completion | Default 60% complete all 12 stages | Own assumption; other participants count with half the stages |
| Price | $5 per participant per month | Indicative myoncare price; quote on request |
| Cost per preventable stay | Default $9,500 | Mean cost of 3.5 million potentially preventable adult stays in 2017 ($33.7 billion in total)6 |
| Reference rate | About 16 potentially preventable stays per 1,000 adults per year in the most rural (noncore) areas | 1,596 per 100,000, age- and sex-adjusted, 20176 |
Formula: Participants = adults × participation. Program cost = participants × $5 × 12. Topic checks = participants × 12 × (completion + (1 − completion) × 0.5). Break-even stays = program cost ÷ cost per stay.
Deliberately not included: emergency visits, travel time and costs, lost productivity, long-term effects and any savings estimate. The reference rate is for orientation only; it does not say how many stays the Health Year avoids.
Data & governance
Public programs need clear rules. We set them up with you.
Who runs the program decides which rules apply. These are the questions program owners, counsel and privacy officers usually ask.
0
individual results shared with the program owner
Participation is voluntary and requires consent. Program owners receive de-identified reports for groups of 10 or more only.
myoncare program designDepends on who offers the program
Offered by a health plan or a covered health care provider, the data is protected health information under HIPAA. Other set-ups may fall under state health privacy laws instead.
HHS8Health data rules vary by state
Some states have their own consumer health data laws, for example Washington's My Health My Data Act. We review the set-up for your state.
Washington State Attorney General9Decisions stay with local clinicians
myoncare reviews checks and routes findings. Diagnosis and treatment stay with the local care team that the program defines.
myoncare program designThis overview is not legal advice. We review the set-up with you and your counsel.
Four steps
From first call to a regional pilot.
Define region and goals
Counties, target groups, funding route and how success is measured.
Connect local care
Clinics, community health centers or telehealth partners that receive findings and invite people to follow-up care.
Invite residents
QR codes in clinics, pharmacies and libraries, local media and community events. We provide the materials.
Report and adjust
De-identified reports by county for steering the program and for program reporting.
FAQ
What program owners want to know first.
Who can run a regional Health Year?
State offices of rural health, county health departments, Medicaid agencies, health plans and rural health systems. The program owner defines the region, the target groups and the local care partners.
Can the program owner see individual health data?
No. Individual results are visible only to the resident and the local care team. Program owners receive de-identified, aggregated reports for groups of 10 or more people.
Who follows up on findings?
The local care partners defined in the set-up, for example a rural health clinic, a community health center or a telehealth partner. myoncare routes the finding; clinical decisions stay with them.
Can it be funded through the Rural Health Transformation Program?
Prevention and chronic disease management and consumer tech solutions for chronic disease are permitted uses. Whether the Health Year fits depends on your state's approved plan. We review this with you.
What does it cost?
Pricing is per participating resident per month, so you pay only for people who take part. The estimator above gives a first figure; we prepare a quote in the first call.
Is participation voluntary?
Yes. Participation is voluntary and requires each resident's consent.
Is this the same Health Year that employers use?
Yes. The topics, the app and the lifestyle programs are the same. The rural set-up adds local care partners and reporting by county. See the Health Year overview.
Quality and data security.
The Health Year runs on the myoncare platform, developed by ONCARE GmbH and offered in the U.S. by myoncare, Inc.
FDA-listed
Hosted in the US
HIPAA safeguards
ISO 27001
MDR Class IIa (EU)
The standards and certifications listed refer to the quality management system (QMS) and information security management system (ISMS) of ONCARE GmbH, which is responsible for developing the myoncare health platform. More on quality & security
Bring the Health Year to your region.
In 30 minutes we show you the app, the regional report and the topic plan, and estimate reach and cost for your region.
Sources & notes
9 sources
- USDA Economic Research Service: Rural America at a Glance, 2025 Edition (EIB-295), January 2026. Nonmetro population July 2024: 46.2 million, 13.6%. ers.usda.gov
- Garcia MC et al.: Potentially excess deaths from the five leading causes of death in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties, United States, 2010–2022. MMWR Surveillance Summaries 2024;73(SS-2). 2022 data provisional. cdc.gov
- Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, UNC: Rural Hospital Closures (197 closures and conversions since January 2005; page updated June 2026). shepscenter.unc.edu
- Cecil G. Sheps Center: What proportion of rural areas are Health Professional Shortage Areas? February 2026 (citing estimates that 66.5% of primary care HPSAs are rural). shepscenter.unc.edu
- KFF: A Closer Look at the $50 Billion Rural Health Transformation Program, updated September 18, 2026. kff.org
- AHRQ Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project: Statistical Brief #259, Potentially Preventable Hospitalizations in the United States, 2017 (3.5 million stays, $33.7 billion, mean $9,500 per stay; noncore rate 1,596 per 100,000). hcup-us.ahrq.gov
- RAND Corporation: Workplace Wellness Programs Study, Health Quarterly 2(4). Participation often below 20% of those eligible. rand.org
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Summary of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. hhs.gov
- Washington State Office of the Attorney General: Protecting Washingtonians' Personal Health Data and Privacy (My Health My Data Act). atg.wa.gov