With its new policy, Medicare is saying that an off-campus office is an off-campus office, regardless of whether it's owned by a hospital, a group of doctors or a solo practitioner.

A federal judge in March invalidated large chunks of the law that created association health plans. But many of the plans are still operating and waiting to see if the Trump Administration appeals the ruling.

Compared with urban hubs, rural populations tend to have less access to public health resources, less experience with syphilis and less willingness to address it because of socially conservative views.

This novel approach recognizes that superbugs don't remain isolated in one hospital or nursing home but move quickly through a community, said Dr. John Jernigan, who directs the CDC's office on 'healthcare-acquired infection research.