Rural Health Transformation Program Funding Rolls Out Across States
Key Takeaways
- The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is rolling out Rural Health Transformation Program funding across states to address rural health care access, infrastructure, workforce shortages, technology, and care coordination.
- State investments include pharmacy connectivity, telehealth, remote patient monitoring, behavioral health services, medical transportation, advanced imaging, and clinical equipment upgrades.
- The projects reflect state-specific approaches that could influence rural provider capacity, patient access, medication management, and coordination across the health care system.
Federal funding under the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) is moving into implementation across several states, with new investments targeting health care access, workforce shortages, technology infrastructure, care coordination, transportation, and behavioral health services in rural communities.
Recent announcements from CMS detail RHTP investments in Alaska, Alabama, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Dakota, and West Virginia. The projects illustrate how states are using the program’s funding to address different barriers to rural health care delivery, ranging from prescription drug access and medical transportation to artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled imaging and workforce development.
What is the Rural Health Transformation Program?
The RHTP was established through the Working Families Tax Cuts Act and provides a $50 billion federal investment over 5 years to support changes in rural health care delivery. CMS is working with states to direct funding toward locally identified needs and health system sustainability.
The latest announcements demonstrate the range of approaches states are taking with that funding.
“[W]e are putting resources directly into rural communities to strengthen the health workforce, modernize infrastructure, expand access, and bring care closer to home,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr said in the CMS announcements.
Alaska Invests $160 Million in Technology and Access
Alaska is receiving $160 million for 142 projects designed to expand coordinated care, health technology, infrastructure, and workforce capacity.
Among the projects are $6.5 million for robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery in Southeast Alaska; $5 million for a tribally-led behavioral health and recovery campus; $4.75 million to improve statewide health information exchange connectivity and interoperability; and more than $3.1 million for an AI-powered imaging network spanning 21 acute care hospitals.
Another $250 000 will support development of a drone-based prescription drug delivery system intended to reach remote villages across 94 000 square miles. CMS reported that medication delivery delays in these communities can reach 5 to 14 days during winter.
Alabama Targets Workforce and Behavioral Health
Alabama is directing $144 million toward 138 grants focused on health care access, technology, infrastructure, and the rural workforce.
The state's strategy includes modernizing electronic health records and cybersecurity systems, expanding telehealth and mobile health services, improving emergency and maternal care, and increasing access to mental health and substance use disorder services. Funding also supports rural workforce development through training programs, scholarships, apprenticeships, recruitment, and retention efforts.
CMS said the investments are part of a broader state strategy to modernize rural health care delivery while strengthening coordination between providers and community-based services.
Ohio Expands Pharmacy Connectivity
In Ohio, CMS announced $3.15 million for projects intended to improve pharmacy connectivity and prescription drug information exchange across the state's 73 rural counties.
Of that funding, $2 million will improve pharmacists' access to patient medical records to support medication management and care coordination. Another $1.15 million will improve rural providers' integrated access to the Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System, including integration with electronic health records and pharmacy dispensing systems.
CMS said improved connectivity could help pharmacists and prescribers identify potentially dangerous drug interactions and address inappropriate acquisition of controlled substances from multiple providers. The investments follow a previously announced $10 million for rural health workforce development in Ohio.
Pennsylvania Modernizes Rural Health Infrastructure
Pennsylvania is directing $35 million toward screening technology, clinical equipment, operating room capacity, and transportation.
The investment is part of approximately $193.3 million in RHTP funding awarded to Pennsylvania for fiscal year 2026. CMS said the latest projects are intended to modernize rural facilities and equipment while reducing barriers that can prevent patients from reaching needed services.
North Dakota Focuses on Coordinated Care
North Dakota is using an additional $1 million to launch its Coordinating and Connecting Care Initiative, which will bring together patients, rural providers, community and volunteer organizations, tribal partners, and other stakeholders to identify gaps and strengthen coordination across the state.
The project is part of broader RHTP implementation in North Dakota. Nearly $60 million in programs and funding opportunities have already been announced, including $40 million for clinical equipment upgrades, $10 million for workforce retention across the state's 37 Critical Access Hospitals and affiliated clinics, and $1.5 million for mobile mammography services.
West Virginia Addresses Transportation Barriers
West Virginia is directing an additional $4.2 million toward its Rural Health Link initiative to increase medical transportation capacity, service availability, and geographic coverage.
The transportation investment represents 1 component of nearly $167 million in programming announced across multiple statewide projects. Other initiatives include $14 million to expand remote patient monitoring and virtual care technology and $10.5 million in workforce grants addressing chronic health conditions and substance use disorder.
What Does the Rural Health Funding Mean for Managed Care?
For payers and managed care stakeholders, the state-level projects highlight several areas that could affect rural care delivery, including health information exchange, medication management, telehealth, remote patient monitoring, behavioral health, transportation, workforce capacity, and referral coordination.
The funding also demonstrates that RHTP implementation will differ considerably across states. Alaska is emphasizing technology and geographic access, for example, while Ohio is focusing on pharmacy connectivity, West Virginia on transportation and virtual care, and North Dakota on care coordination and clinical infrastructure.
As additional RHTP funding moves from federal awards into state and local projects, payers and other health care stakeholders may need to track how these investments change rural provider capacity, access points, care coordination, and technology infrastructure.
Bottom Line: The latest RHTP announcements show the $50 billion federal program moving from broad state awards toward specific projects designed around local rural health needs. The initiatives span pharmacy connectivity, transportation, behavioral health, workforce development, advanced technology, clinical infrastructure, and care coordination, creating different models of rural health transformation across states.
References
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Trump Administration announces $3.15 million to expand pharmacy connectivity throughout rural Ohio communities. Published August 26, 2026. Accessed August 28, 2026. https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/trump-administration-announces-3-15-million-expand-pharmacy-connectivity-throughout-rural-ohio
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Trump Administration announces $160 million to bring cutting-edge technology, drones prescription deliveries, surgical robotics and more to Alaska. Published August 25, 2026. Accessed August 28, 2026. https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/trump-administration-announces-160-million-bring-cutting-edge-technology-drones-prescription
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Trump Administration announces $144 million to improve mental health, substance abuse, emergency and maternal care and expand the healthcare workforce in Alabama. Published August 24, 2026. Accessed August 28, 2026. https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/trump-administration-announces-144-million-improve-mental-health-substance-abuse-emergency-maternal
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Trump Administration announces $4.2 million to expand medical transportation and improve patient access to care across West Virginia. Published August 20, 2026. Accessed August 28, 2026. https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/trump-administration-announces-4-2-million-expand-medical-transportation-improve-patient-access-care
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Trump Administration delivers critical funding to launch the Coordinating and Connecting Care Initiative in North Dakota. Published 2026. Accessed August 28, 2026. https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/trump-administration-delivers-critical-funding-launch-coordinating-connecting-care-initiative-north
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Trump Administration announces $35 million investment to advance screening technology, secure additional operating rooms, and modernize rural Pennsylvania healthcare. Published 2026. Accessed August 28, 2026. https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/trump-administration-announces-35-million-investment-advance-screening-technology-secure-additional
