12/30/2025

All 50 States Awarded Rural Health Transformation Funding

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced December 29 that it will award all 50 states funding from the $50B Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP). The funds are to be used to “expand access to care in rural communities, strengthen the rural workforce, modernize rural facilities and technology and support innovative models…”.  

Beginning as early as January 2026, Ohio will receive $202,030,262. As previously reported, Ohio’s key transformation priorities include:

• Preventing chronic disease and improving population health
  Targeting community-based strategies to reduce risk factors and improve health outcomes.
• Strengthening care delivery in rural Ohio
  Expanding services in rural communities through models that integrate primary, behavioral, and preventive care.
• Workforce development & retention
  Supporting rural workforce pipelines, recruitment incentives, and training to retain clinicians and support staff.
• Technology & data infrastructure
  Modernizing systems — including telehealth, electronic health records, and data sharing — to improve rural care coordination.
• Sustainable models tied to Medicaid and local systems
  Aligning program investments with existing state Medicaid initiatives and long-term sustainability strategies.

Members engaging with Ohio on RHTP initiatives should expect work to begin quickly because of the limited time to use funds and report progress.