Tracking State Rural Health Transformation Plans
KFF Health News is working to collect and post approved plans as more states respond to emails and public records requests for their documents.
Rural Health Payout
Tracking the $50B Rural Health Fund
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States Bet Big on Rural Health Startups, With a Silicon Valley Twist
States are spending rural health dollars on tech startups, betting that untested companies will succeed where doctors have vanished and hospitals have collapsed. Louisiana’s call for innovative technology drew more than 200 pitches, seeking from $250,000 to $3 million in seed money.
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$50B Rural Health Transformation Program Needs More Transparency, Groups Say
States must submit Rural Health Transformation Program progress reports to the federal government, but they aren’t required to proactively post those reports, or related information, publicly.
1-20 of 20 results
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Patients Wary of Governments, Companies Pushing AI as a Rural Healthcare Solution
The $50 billion federal Rural Health Transformation Program is set to flood rural America with new AI health tools. That’s despite little evidence on whether health-related AI can improve access to care and patient health in those communities.
By Arielle Zionts and Darius Tahir -
Backed by Threat of Clawbacks, Feds Wield Tight Grip on $50B Rural Health Fund
Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, framed the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program as “bold, creative plans” led by states. But as states have started to roll out their plans, federal officials control where and how the money is spent.
By Sarah Jane Tribble and Arielle Zionts -
Trump’s $50B Rural Health Bet Meets a Healthcare Desert in North Carolina
Republicans promise that $50 billion in new health funding will help rural America. But it’s not expected to aid the years-long effort in North Carolina’s Martin County to reopen its only hospital.
By Sarah Jane Tribble and Amanda Seitz -
Big Companies Position Themselves for Payday From $50B Federal Rural Health Fund
A $50 billion federal fund is supposed to modernize rural health with electronic health records, AI, telehealth, and more. But community clinics and rural health advocates fear that the contractors administering the money for states will bite off a big chunk before it reaches rural patients.
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Rural Nebraska Dialysis Unit Closes Despite the State’s $219M in Rural Health Funding
A rural Nebraska dialysis unit that was hemorrhaging money closed, upending patients’ lives. That’s despite a federal rural health program that granted the state more than $200 million this year to improve health care in rural communities.
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Give and Take: Federal Rural Health Funding Could Trigger Service Cuts
States are rolling out plans for their share of a $50 billion fund meant to improve rural health care. In some states, the money may provoke rural hospitals to cut services.
By Aaron Bolton, MTPR and Arielle Zionts -
Lawmakers, Health Groups Resist Their States’ Rural Health Fund Plans
Some Republican state lawmakers and state health associations are pushing back against spending plans under the Trump administration’s $50 billion federal rural health fund. Federal administrators already approved states’ plans, but in many cases, state lawmakers must greenlight spending.
By Arielle Zionts and Sarah Jane Tribble -
Wyoming Wants To Make Its Five-Year Federal Rural Health Funding Last ‘Forever’
State officials believe they’ve found a way to extend the life of federal Rural Health Transformation Program money Wyoming is receiving as part of last summer’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act — by investing most of it.
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Alabama’s ‘Pretty Cool’ Plan for Robots in Maternity Care Sparks Debate
Alabama, a state with one of the nation’s highest infant mortality rates, is betting on robots to help fix its maternal care crisis. But the state’s plan for telerobotic ultrasounds in rural areas has raised doubts.
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States Race To Launch Rural Health Transformation Plans
Every state will receive at least $100 million annually from the federal Rural Health Transformation fund, but some scored millions more based on how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services judged the “quality” of their plans and willingness to pass policies embracing "Make America Healthy Again" initiatives.
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Tracking Applications for Rural Health Transformation Funds
KFF Health News is working to collect and post complete application materials, by state, and will update this repository as new materials, released in response to public records requests, arrive.
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Republicans Left Tribes Out of Their $50B Rural Fund. Now It’s Up to States To Share.
The Trump administration has championed its Rural Health Transformation Program as an investment in American families who have been left behind. But Native American tribes, whose communities have a significant presence in rural America and have some of the greatest health needs, are ineligible to apply directly for funding.
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Feds Promised ‘Radical Transparency’ but Are Withholding Rural Health Fund Applications
Proposals from states that have shared their applications to a new $50 billion rural health program include using drones to deliver medication, installing refrigerators to expand access to healthy produce, and bringing telehealth to libraries, day cares, and senior centers.
By Sarah Jane Tribble and Arielle Zionts -
Concerns Over Fairness, Access Rise as States Compete for Slice of $50B Rural Health Fund
Amid public forums and local cries for help, states are also talking with large health systems, technology companies, and others amid intensifying competition for shares of a $50 billion fund to improve rural health.
By Sarah Jane Tribble and Arielle Zionts -
States Jostle Over $50B Rural Health Fund as Trump’s Medicaid Cuts Trigger Scramble
States are battling for their piece of $50 billion in federal rural health funding, but it’s not just hospitals vying for the money. Tech startups and policy demands are raising the stakes as Medicaid cuts loom.
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RFK Jr. Misses Mark in Touting Rural Health Transformation Fund as Historic Infusion of Cash
The health secretary’s statement doesn’t consider the impact that the Medicaid cuts advanced in the same law will have on health care in rural America.
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$50B Rural Health ‘Slush Fund’ Faces Questions, Skepticism
Lawmakers added a $50 billion program for rural health to President Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending package with promises it would help plug the hole left by Medicaid cuts. Rural hospital and clinic leaders worry the infusion won’t reach the right places.