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Applications for ‘big beautiful’ rural health fund open for states
States can apply for $50 billion over five years to innovate rural healthcare and address financial losses affecting 48% of rural hospitals, officials announced.
- Applications for the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Fund opened on September 15, with states required to submit their proposals by November 5, 2025.
- The fund was created as a last-minute addition to address Medicaid cuts in the reconciliation bill signed in July 2025, responding to concerns about rural hospital closures and reduced federal spending.
- The program aims to improve long-term rural health care access by distributing $10 billion annually from 2026 to 2030 to reimagine care and tackle workforce and technology shortages.
- Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. highlighted that this initiative represents the most significant funding commitment to date aimed at enhancing health services in rural areas, while CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz stressed the importance of leveraging the current crisis as a chance to drive progress.
- While officials dispute risk to rural hospitals, critics warn Medicaid cuts threaten essential services, suggesting states must act quickly to secure funds to stabilize rural health systems starting early 2026.
22 Articles
22 Articles
Louisiana seeks money for digital records, tuition incentives from $50B rural health care fund
Louisiana is readying its application to draw down money from the federal government's $50 billion rural health fund. (Getty Images)Louisiana is likely to prioritize digitizing medical records and tuition forgiveness for rural health care practitioners in its application for a piece of the new $50 billion federal rural health care fund. The Trump administration formally kicked off the application process Monday for its Rural Health Transformati…
Furthering Rural Healthcare: The Rural Hospital Transformation Program - Real News Now
On Monday, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and Kennedy announced a fresh opportunity for states to present their proposals for funding under the recently passed Rural Hospital Transformation Program. The program, a part of President Donald Trump’s monumental One Big Beautiful Bill Act, approved earlier in July, proposes an innovative shift in the provision of rural healthcare services. Kennedy expre…
Rural Health Care Summit: Future Looks Grim for Rural Hospitals
Rural hospitals facing cuts in Medicaid will struggle to figure out how to stay open in the coming years, experts said during a recent rural summit. Although rural hospitals are working to find ways to address looming cuts in reimbursement, the tipping point to staying open is coming, according to participants in the One Country Project panel titled “Rural Health Care: Doing More with Less is Not Sustainable.” As part of President Donald Trump’…
Rural hospitals evaluating budgets and services amid Medicaid cuts
CLAXTON, Ga. (WSAV) -- Evans Memorial Hospital serves rural Evans, Tattnall and other surrounding counties, but its budget and services could be limited soon, according to hospital staff. CEO Bill Lee told News 3 they are preparing for the potential future impacts of Medicaid cuts from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Several other rural hospitals are doing the same. St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Hospital in Lavonia, Georgia, for example, is ending ser…
Louisiana eyes share of $50B federal fund for small-town hospitals and rural health
The White House announced Monday that applications are open for the new Rural Health Transformation Fund, a $50 billion initiative over five years that federal officials said will “make rural America healthy again.”
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