Overview
- CMS published state-by-state amounts for fiscal 2026 under the Rural Health Transformation Program, launching distributions across all 50 states.
- Reported top first-year grants include Texas $281.3 million, Alaska $272.2 million, California $233.6 million, Montana $233.5 million, and Oklahoma $223.5 million, with New Jersey at $147.2 million.
- Michigan announced a $173 million award for 2025–26 to support rural partnerships, workforce recruitment, behavioral health integration, telehealth expansion, and digital referral networks.
- Administrator Mehmet Oz said CMS will conduct annual audits, link future payments to results, and reallocate funds from underperforming states.
- KFF estimates the initiative would offset only a little more than one-third of an estimated $137 billion decade-long reduction in rural Medicaid funding.