OAN Staff Blake Wolf
10:47 AM – Tuesday, December 30, 2025
The Trump administration formally launched the formation of the $50 billion rural health fund meant to “transform” rural health care by providing affordable, expanded access to care for Americans in all 50 states.
On Monday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the launch of the Rural Health Transformation Program created through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Beginning next year, the program will provide all 50 states with between $145 million and $281 million.
“This unprecedented federal investment will help states expand access to care in rural communities, strengthen the rural health workforce, modernize rural facilities and technology, and support innovative models that bring high-quality, dependable care closer to home,” wrote Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
According to the press release, 50% of the funding is equally distributed among all states, and the other 50% is allocated based on a variety of factors such as “individual state metrics around rurality and a state’s rural health system, current or proposed state policy actions that enhance access and quality of care in rural communities, and application initiatives or activities that reflect the greatest potential for, and scale of, impact on the health of rural communities.”
The press release noted that the program will access rural communities by “creating new access points that bring care closer to home and help preserve strong local health systems.”
“Over the last roughly six weeks, there’s been an intense review of these applications, and it was based on three major criteria,” stated CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz in a briefing.
Dr. Oz noted that some of the funds are contingent on states following through with agreed-upon policy actions that accompany the financial commitment within the Rural Health Transformation Program.
“If the state says they’re going to do these things as part of their policy, and they don’t do that, then we do have the ability to claw back the financial commitment that would have accompanied those state policy actions,” Dr. Oz added.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. praised the program for providing over 60 million Americans living in rural areas with “the right to equal access to quality care.”
“This historic investment puts local hospitals, clinics, and health workers in control of their communities’ healthcare. Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, rural Americans will now have affordable healthcare close to home, free from bureaucratic obstacles,” Kennedy Jr. added.
According to the State Award List, Texas is receiving the largest share of funding at $281,319,361, while New Jersey is receiving the smallest at $147,250,806.
The program is set to take effect at the start of the new year.
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