Trump Administration Announces $10 Billion in Second-Year Rural Health Awards to All 50 States, With $231 Million for California
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), announced on November 9 $10 billion in awards to all 50 states for the second year of the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), including $231,105,823 for California. The awards mark the next phase of President Trump's $50 billion investment to transform rural health care, building on a first year of implementation in every state.
"President Trump made a historic investment in rural America, and HHS is putting those resources to work in every state," said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. "This next $10 billion will expand access to care, strengthen the rural health workforce, improve prevention, and help states build solutions that fit the needs of their own communities."
CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said rural Americans have life expectancies three years shorter than their urban peers, and that the program is funding the investments needed to close that gap. States have already put the resources to work bringing better care closer to home, he said, and CMS will help them build on that progress in the coming year.
In the second year, states will advance initiatives from their approved transformation plans. Depending on each state's priorities, these may include improving prevention and chronic disease management, creating sustainable access to care, strengthening the rural health workforce, advancing innovative care and payment models, and putting modern technology and data to work for rural patients and providers.
CMS said this year's awards reflect, in part, states' progress implementing their approved plans. All 50 states submitted annual reports, which CMS reviewed in determining each state's award, weighing factors such as implementation of state policies to improve rural health, including the Presidential Fitness Test and continuing medical education for physicians on nutrition. CMS's Office of Rural Health Transformation works directly with each state, providing technical assistance and monitoring progress.
Among the state awards, Alaska will receive $272,653,149, Oklahoma $227,097,543, Kansas $225,896,117, Georgia $221,731,766, Nebraska $219,247,775, North Carolina $216,824,573 and Iowa $216,007,657. California's $231,105,823 will be used under the state's approved plan.
The program was created through the Working Families Tax Cuts Act as a $50 billion, five-year investment. With the new awards, the Trump administration has now awarded $20 billion through the program, and an additional $30 billion will be awarded over the remaining three years.
Related: CMS Announces More Than $233 Million in Rural Health Transformation Funding for California
(Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国卫生与公众服务部休伯特·汉弗莱大楼（华盛顿）。ajay_suresh 摄，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Hubert H. Humphrey Building, headquarters of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in Washington. By ajay_suresh, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
