What You Should Know:
– Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) unveiled details for states to apply for funding from the new $50B Rural Health Transformation Program.
– Created under the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, this unprecedented investment is designed to strengthen healthcare across rural America and build sustainable systems that improve access, enhance quality of care, and improve outcomes for patients.
Five Strategic Goals for Rural Healthcare Transformation
The program’s five strategic goals are designed to address key challenges in rural healthcare:
- Make rural America healthy again: Support health innovations and new access points to promote preventative health and address the root causes of diseases.
- Sustainable access: Help rural providers become long-term access points for care by improving their efficiency and sustainability.
- Workforce development: Attract and retain a highly skilled healthcare workforce.
- Innovative care: Spark the growth of innovative care models to improve health outcomes and coordinate care.
- Tech innovation: Foster the use of innovative technologies that promote efficient care delivery, data security, and access to digital health tools.
Funding and Application Details
The program invites all 50 states to apply for funding to address their specific rural health challenges. It enables states to reimagine care delivery and develop innovative, enduring, state-driven solutions to tackle the root causes of poor health outcomes in rural America.
The $50B in funding will be allocated to approved states over five years, with $10B available each year beginning in federal fiscal year 2026. Half of the funding will be distributed evenly to all states with an approved application. The other half will be awarded to states based on individual metrics and applications that show the greatest potential for impact on the health of rural communities.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. called the program “the largest investment ever made to improve health care for rural Americans”. CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said it is a “historic investment that will catalyze needed change in rural health systems and improve lives for generations to come”.
States have a one-time opportunity to apply for this program. The deadline to apply is November 5, 2025. CMS will announce the awardees by December 31, 2025, and will partner with states to ensure oversight and implementation of the initiatives.
