The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently funneled $10 billion into a federal program designed to improve rural health disparities.
The new funding comes in the second year of CMS’ Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), which is designed to make healthcare more accessible in rural and remote regions. The agency unveiled the $50 billion program in 2025 as part of the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, with funding authorized under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
CMS designed the rural health program to help expand resources, as well as strengthen workforce development and quality, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Said.
“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,” Kennedy said in a statement. “We are giving rural America the resources and flexibility to build stronger health systems that deliver better care and better outcomes.”
CMS intends the RHTP program to help rural-based healthcare providers build stronger partnerships, invest in technology and new equipment, as well as improve recruitment and retention of skilled healthcare workers. Through the rural health program, up to $10 billion in available funding will be distributed annually over a five-year period.
The program’s second year marks an opportunity to expand state-developed “transformation” initiatives, according to CMS. The federal program incentivizes providers across all 50 states to develop innovative, lasting solutions to some of the most prolific challenges among underserved rural communities.
The agency structured the program to help improve chronic disease management, strengthen care coordination and encourage technology development that supports operational efficiency.
The RHTP program allows for the opportunity to build, test, refine and scale care delivery models that meet the unique needs of rural communities, according to CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz.
“Rural Americans have life expectancies three years shorter than their urban peers, but President Trump’s Rural Health Transformation Program is funding the historic investments necessary to close that gap,” Oz said in an announcement. “States have already put these resources to work bringing better care closer to home for their rural communities, and CMS looks forward to helping them build on that progress in the coming year.”
