Idaho Announces $186 Million in First-Year Rural Health Transformation Awards, Part of Nearly $1 Billion Over Five Years
Boise, Idaho — Governor Brad Little announced on October 28 the first-year award recipients under the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) in Idaho. First-year funding totals $186 million — precisely $185,974,367.81 — provided entirely by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Over five years, the program will bring nearly $1 billion to Idaho to strengthen health care in rural communities.
The funding comes from the national $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program established under H.R.1, the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, and administered by CMS, with states receiving allocations over the life of the program. Idaho's first-year awards are distributed across five focus areas to rural health providers and service projects around the state.
Representative awards announced by the governor's office include $897,788 to the Idaho Educational Services for the Deaf and the Blind for a mobile audiology clinic; about $5.8 million to Bonner General; about $6.65 million to Benewah Community Hospital; and $2,255,219 to Mountain View Hospital for a mobile clinic. Little and federal officials including CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz commented on the investment, emphasizing that the funds will bring care closer to rural residents.
The five Year 1 initiatives are: improving rural access to care through technology; expanding innovative care models; strengthening workforce recruitment, training and retention; supporting population-specific, evidence-based prevention and chronic disease efforts; and investing in rural health infrastructure and partnerships. "For many Idaho families – especially in rural areas – affordable, accessible health care is a real concern," Governor Little said. CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said the program is based on "one simple idea: your access to quality health care shouldn’t depend on your ZIP code." Other announced awards include about $4.89 million for St. Mary’s in Cottonwood (including an MRI purchase), $6.65 million for Benewah Community Hospital in St. Maries, $1.53 million for a Shine Dental mobile dental clinic, $2,255,219 for Mountain View Hospital’s mobile clinic in eastern Idaho, $1,237,795 for two rural opioid-use-disorder medication units, and $1.59 million for a St. Luke’s mobile CT screening program.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 Boise 的爱达荷州议会大厦。Quintin Soloviev 摄，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Idaho State Capitol in Boise. Photo by Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
