Amid Unified Democrat Opposition, Republicans Last Year Created the $50 Billion Rural Health Transformation Fund, a Lifeline for Rural Health Care
TO REVERSE THE DECADES-LONG DECLINE OF RURAL HOSPITALS, SENATE REPUBLICANS PASSED THE RURAL HEALTH TRANSFORMATION PROGRAM AS PART OF THE WORKING FAMILIES TAX CUTS
“I proposed $50 billion in funding for the Rural Health Transformation Program to help give rural states like Maine the resources they need to keep health care available close to home. This funding will help strengthen our rural hospitals and support innovative approaches that can lower costs and improve health outcomes for Mainers no matter where they live.” – Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine)
“These investments will strengthen rural health care in our state, expand access to pharmacy services and help improve care for Ohio families. I supported the Working Families Tax Cuts Act because it delivered $50 billion to rural patients, and it’s great to see Ohioans beginning to see those benefits.” – Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio)
“Over the next five years, grants from the new $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program will support dependable care in rural communities. I am fighting to make sure our healthcare providers have the resources they need. Their important work should be supported.” – Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.)
“If we work together to smartly implement this historic federal investment, we have a generational opportunity to transform health care in Alaska for the better and seize a brighter future for our kids and grandkids.” – Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska)
- “[A]pproximately 60 million people in the United States—20% of the population… live in rural communities and rely on rural hospitals for their health care.” (Bipartisan Policy Center: Rural Hospitals and the Rural Health Transformation Program: What Comes Next – 7/10/25)
- Under the status quo, rural hospitals had been shuttering for decades: Since 2005, approximately 112rural hospitals have closed. (U.S. Senate Committee on Finance: Crapo Applauds Rural Health Transformation Program Awards – 12/29/25)
- To improve patients’ access to care from these critical rural providers, Republicans created a $50 billion Rural Health Transformation program for all 50 states “to strengthen and modernize health care in rural communities across the country.” (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: CMS Announces $50 Billion in Awards to Strengthen Rural Health in All 50 States – 12/29/25)
- “This unprecedented investment is designed to empower states to transform the existing rural health care infrastructure and build sustainable health care systems that expand access, enhance quality of care, and improve outcomes for patients.” (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: CMS Launches Landmark $50 Billion Rural Health Transformation Program – 9/15/25)
- “The program has five broad goals — promoting preventive care and addressing chronic disease management, improving rural providers’ financial sustainability and efficiency, retaining and recruiting rural healthcare workers for at least five years, developing and implementing innovative payment models, and improving access to innovative technologies, including remote care and digital health tools.” (Healthcare Dive: CMS opens applications for Rural Health Transformation Fund – 9/16/25)
LAST DECEMBER, THE PROGRAM WENT LIVE AND HAS PROVIDED SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS FOR ALL 50 STATES, FUNDING NUMEROUS STATE PRIORITIES
- “The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) … announced that all 50 states will receive awards under the Rural Health Transformation Program, a $50 billion initiative established under President Trump’s Working Families Tax Cuts legislation (Public Law 119-21) to strengthen and modernize health care in rural communities across the country.” (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: CMS Announces $50 Billion in Awards to Strengthen Rural Health in All 50 States – 12/29/25)
- Alaska: Alaska received “$272,174,856 in the first year to support targeted, systemwide investments that improve access to care and strengthen the long-term stability of the state’s health care system.” (Alaska Department of Health: Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) – accessed 9/29/26)
- “The first 19 awardees include projects focused on primary care, behavioral health, substance abuse treatment, cancer treatment, improved navigation and health records, diagnostic and prevention services, and others.” (Alaska Beacon: Alaska begins rollout of Rural Health Transformation Program funding – 8/11/26)
- In August, CMS announced that $160 million was being invested in 142 projects across the state, “bringing robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery to Southeast Alaska for the first time, creating a first-of-its-kind tribally led behavioral health and recovery campus, deploying AI-powered medical imaging across 21 hospitals to help rapidly identify time-critical conditions like stroke, and developing drone technology to deliver medications to remote villages…” (U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: Trump Administration Announces $160 Million to Bring Cutting-Edge Technology, Drones Prescription Deliveries, Surgical Robotics and More to Alaska – 8/25/26)
- Maine: In the first year of the Rural Health Transformation Program, Maine received $190 million in funding, which has gone to several state priorities that are benefitting the over 690,000 Mainers who live in rural communities. (Sen. Collins: Senator Collins Announces $190 Million for Maine Rural Hospitals and Providers through Rural Health Transformation Program – 12/29/25; State of Maine Department of Health and Human Services: Rural Health Transformation Program – accessed 9/29/26)
- Earlier this month, “Northern Light Health (NLH), a large integrated healthcare system based in Maine, announced… that it has been awarded $4.8 million as part of Maine’s Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP)… The funding will focus on ‘needed upgrades’ to Northern Light Mayo Hospital’s electronic medical record (EMR) system, according to NLH’s release. The EMR update will allow the facility to integrate with the wider Northern Light Health system ‘for the first time since joining Northern Light Health’ in 2020, officials said.” (News Center Maine: Northern Light Health receives $4.8M for electronic medical record updates – 9/15/26)
- Nebraska: Receiving over $218.5 million this year, Nebraska health officials have called the program a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to modernize rural health care and make it more sustainable.” (Nebraska Examiner: Nebraska has awarded roughly half of $218M in funds allotted for first year of rural health program – 7/31/26)
- As of August, “[a]bout $136 million of this year’s funds have been awarded under nearly 200 grantee agreements, according to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.”
- “One of the organizations that has received money is The Nebraska High Value Network. The organization combines the resources and expertise of 22 rural Nebraska hospitals. The NHVN received about $18 million under the ‘Remote Patient Monitoring in Facilities and at Home’ grant. ‘They have these things called BioButtons,’ said Tyler Toline, board chair of NHVN and CEO of Franciscan Healthcare. ‘It can help measure respiration rates, blood pressure … It gives you kind of a leading indicator to see whether they’re doing well or not.’” (Nebraska Public Media: More than half of Nebraska’s federal rural healthcare funds have been awarded to hospitals, partners – 8/11/26)
- New York: Despite Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) calling the program a “fraud,” New York received over $212 million from the program in 2026, funding numerous state health priorities: (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: CMS Announces $50 Billion in Awards to Strengthen Rural Health in All 50 States – 12/29/25; CQ: Senate Democrats Hold Media Availability After Closed Policy Luncheon – 6/24/25)
- Earlier this month, Governor Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.) announced the allotment of $76 million of the funding, which is supporting 90 awards to 56 organizations across the state. (New York State: Governor Hochul Announces $76 Million to Strengthen Rural Healthcare Across New York State – 9/4/26)
- “These investments will bring rural hospitals, health centers and community providers together to strengthen regional health care networks and make it easier for New Yorkers to get the care they need closer to home. By investing in partnerships, infrastructure and the healthcare workforce, we are building a stronger, more sustainable rural health care system that will serve New Yorkers for generations to come.” – Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.)
- Ohio: Receiving over $202 million in 2026, “Ohio’s related statewide efforts will focus on five key priorities: preventive health and chronic disease management, sustainable access to care, workforce development, innovative care delivery and health technology innovation.” (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: CMS Announces $50 Billion in Awards to Strengthen Rural Health in All 50 States – 12/29/25; Ohio Today: Health Workforce Ohio takes next step to strengthen state’s rural health care workforce – 9/22/26)
- At the end of August, the Ohio Pharmacists Association and the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy received funding that “will connect a network of independent pharmacies, retail pharmacies, federally qualified health centers and outpatient hospital pharmacies across Ohio’s 73 rural counties to a health information exchange, improving access to patient medical records.”
- “Ohio’s rural communities currently have some of the lowest rates of [Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System] integration in the state. By conducting needs assessments, performing outreach and providing onboarding assistance, the Ohio Board of Pharmacy hopes to reach a 90% integration rate for all rural counties.” (River Cities Tribune & Register: Ohio awards $3.15 million to expand pharmacy connectivity, health care access in rural communities – 8/31/26)