States are earmarking specific slices of their Rural Health Transformation Program dollars for technology upgrades, service expansions and workforce pipeline development.
CMS has announced 39 such efforts since August. Each state’s full fiscal year 2026 award was set in December 2025, when CMS approved $50 billion in Rural Health Transformation Program funding across all 50 states. Most of the entries below represent specific initiatives or sub-awards within those existing awards — not new money on top of them.
Maryland — $16.4 million. CMS announced Oct. 19 the funding will train Marylanders for healthcare jobs, expand registered apprenticeships, reduce financial barriers to training and certification, and help rural communities recruit and retain clinicians.
Nebraska — more than $177 million. The state has used the funding to secure signed recruitment and retention contracts with providers across 51 counties, add remote monitoring technology at 45 healthcare facilities and create more than 200 new community health worker and supervisor positions across the state, CMS said Oct. 13.
Iowa — $209 million. CMS announced Oct. 9 that Iowa has committed its full fiscal year 2026 award to its Healthy Hometowns initiative, which will fund robotic-assisted orthopedic surgery at rural hospitals, the state’s first Maternal-Fetal Medicine Telehealth Network, cancer prevention and screening, EMS technology, and health information exchange tools connecting more than 100 facilities.
Louisiana — $37.7 million. The funding will bolster rural workforce efforts, including up to $20 million to connect public universities and community and technical colleges with rural providers, $12.7 million to help 53 rural providers recruit and retain clinicians through incentives like sign-on bonuses and relocation assistance, and $5 million for healthcare career pathways across 39 campuses, according to an Oct. 9 news release.
Montana — $8.7 million and $3.63 million. The $8.7 million in funding will provide new ambulances for four rural EMS agencies and equipment upgrades for 75 more, including three tribal governments, CMS said Sept. 29. On Oct. 16, CMS announced $3.63 million in awards to 17 rural EMS agencies to expand community integrated health services, such as post-discharge follow-up, fall risk assessments and wound care delivered in patients’ homes.
Texas — $51 million. CMS announced Sept. 28 the funding will support 68 rural hospital districts and authorities through the state’s Make Rural Texans Healthy Again initiative, backing community-based prevention, wellness and nutrition programs targeting diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease and obesity.
Colorado — $169.6 million. The funding will support 91 grantees and roughly 250 projects, including expanded telemedicine and mobile clinics, behavioral, maternal and pediatric care, and pre-hospital whole-blood transfusion capability for rural EMS providers across 39 counties, according to a Sept. 28 news release.
Delaware — nearly $23 million and more than $1 million. The $23 million in funding will help the state’s three federally qualified health centers modernize EHRs, add remote patient monitoring and cybersecurity upgrades, and deploy two new mobile health units and a passenger van for rural and agricultural communities. On Oct. 14, CMS announced more than $1 million to recruit and retain physicians, including two educational awards for medical students and an expected 61 housing and relocation awards for residents who commit to five years of practice in rural Delaware.
New Mexico — $74 million. The funding will support the creation of six regional hubs to coordinate with local providers and community partners on expanding specialty, maternal, behavioral health and chronic disease services in rural, frontier and tribal communities, according to a Sept. 21 news release.
North Carolina — $1.25 million, $20 million and $17 million. The $1.25 million in funding announced Sept. 14 will expand school-based health centers, telehealth and mobile care for children in rural communities, building on a previously announced $10 million for 39 local EMS agencies to strengthen the rural EMS workforce and behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment access. On Sept. 30, CMS announced an additional $20 million in funding to eligible healthcare providers for telehealth expansion, EHR upgrades, cybersecurity and clinical decision-support technology. CMS announced another $17 million in funding Oct. 7 to expand mental health and substance use disorder services for rural residents.
Mississippi — $104 million and $32 million. The initial $104 million in funding will support 167 grants: 97 grants totaling about $47.4 million for technology modernization and cybersecurity, 43 grants totaling nearly $43.3 million to close care gaps in surgical, specialty and maternal services, and 27 grants totaling nearly $13.4 million to expand telehealth and remote patient monitoring, according to a Sept. 15 news release. On Oct. 21, CMS announced another $32 million for 60 awards to recruit and retain rural physicians and other clinicians, expand clinical training and career pathways, and establish three psychiatric emergency units next to hospital emergency departments.
Kansas — $16.8 million. The Trump administration announced Sept. 14 that $16 million will fund emerging technology grants for 14 rural providers to adopt diagnostic tools and remote patient monitoring, with the remaining $780,000 going to an interfacility transport project to speed patient access to specialty and behavioral care.
Vermont — $11.7 million. CMS announced Sept. 10 that Vermont is committing $9 million to tuition benefits for healthcare professionals who commit to five years in rural communities, with the remaining $2.7 million split between expanding capacity at three rural nursing homes and training more licensed nursing assistants at four community partner sites.
New York — $76 million. CMS said Sept. 4 the funding will strengthen coordination among rural hospitals, primary care providers, federally qualified health centers and behavioral health providers, and expand clinical training programs for the rural workforce.
Michigan — $25 million. The funding will modernize healthcare technology, expand telehealth and remote patient monitoring capabilities, and improve high-speed internet connectivity in rural areas, according to a Sept. 4 news release.
Rhode Island — $5.48 million. CMS announced Sept. 4 that the funding will expand career and technical education in healthcare fields at 14 local education agencies and schools, building student pathways into nursing, EMS, behavioral health and other high-demand professions.
Indiana — $120 million. The funding will expand maternal and infant health services, along with primary and behavioral healthcare access in the state, CMS said Sept. 3.
Hawaii — $58 million. The funding will support workforce transformation efforts, new ambulances and upgraded emergency communications systems across the state, according to a Sept. 1 news release.
Arkansas — $149.3 million and $54.6 million. CMS said Aug. 31 the nearly $150 million in funding will expand telehealth and increase access to specialty care and preventive screenings. On Sept. 24, CMS announced another $54.6 million was being distributed to support 54 projects on nutrition, physical activity and chronic disease management, along with recruiting, training and retaining the rural healthcare workforce. CMS said the announcement completes Arkansas’ initial Year 1 award cycle.
Virginia — $122 million. The funding will be used to expand healthcare access, workforce development and innovation initiatives statewide, according to an Aug. 28 news release.
Georgia — $93.3 million. CMS announced Aug. 27 that the funding will expand telehealth services and advance surgical robotics.
Ohio — $3.15 million and $92 million. The initial $3.15 million in funding will expand pharmacy connectivity and care coordination across the state, CMS said Aug. 26. On Oct. 16, CMS announced $92 million in funding, including $31.4 million for coordinated rural care networks, $30.3 million to improve maternal care and $30.3 million for equipment and facility upgrades at 22 rural hospitals, such as a new behavioral health unit and on-site MRI services.
Alaska — $160 million. The funding will support the development of a drone prescription delivery program, robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgical program, and a new residential treatment and recovery campus in the state, among other initiatives, according to an Aug. 25 news release.
Alabama — $144 million and $55 million. CMS said Aug. 24 the $144 million in funding will improve mental health, substance abuse, emergency and maternal care, and help rural providers modernize their technology and cybersecurity. The agency announced another $55 million in funds Oct. 1 to support 35 grants to expand access to maternal, emergency and preventive care. Projects will help at least 20 rural hospitals add emergency labor and delivery resources and expand maternal-fetal medicine through new telehealth capabilities, among other efforts.
North Dakota — $1 million. The funding will launch the state’s Coordinating and Connecting Care initiative, which will identify gaps, improve communication and strengthen coordination of healthcare services, according to an Aug. 20 news release.
West Virginia — $4.2 million and $4.8 million. CMS announced Aug. 20 that the funding will expand medical transportation options for patients and improve access to care. On Sept. 9, CMS announced two additional $2.4 million awards: one for a statewide recruitment and relocation program aiming to bring in at least 125 licensed healthcare professionals in its first year, and another through the state’s Health to Prosperity initiative to expand worksite clinics and employer-based preventive care.
South Dakota — $90 million, $13 million and $7.2 million. The initial $90 million in funding will support health IT modernization, cybersecurity upgrades and interoperability improvements across rural and tribal communities, according to an Aug. 19 news release. On Sept. 24, CMS announced an additional $13 million that will support 12 modernization and infrastructure grants for providers in the state’s Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic initiative, building toward a same-day 24/7 mobile crisis response service for residents needing substance use and mental healthcare. CMS announced a third funding distribution of $7.2 million to expand ambulance-based telemedicine and upgrade emergency communications across South Dakota.
Pennsylvania — $35 million. CMS said Aug. 19 the funding will support new screening technology, additional operating rooms and expanded medical transportation for rural providers.
The post 39 recent rural health funding distributions appeared first on Becker's Hospital Review | Healthcare News & Analysis.