Overview
- States will receive $10 billion in 2026, averaging about $200 million each, with awards ranging roughly from $147 million to $281 million under a formula that splits funding between equal shares and competitive grants.
- At a White House roundtable, Trump promoted the five-year program totaling $50 billion, which the administration calls the largest federal rural health investment to date.
- CMS said states will design their spending plans and will be supported by assigned project officers overseeing implementation.
- Officials highlighted proposed innovations, including regional spoke hospital models in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, robots performing ultrasounds in Alabama, and Delaware establishing its first rural medical school.
- Trump said the funding comes from cutting Medicaid waste, fraud and abuse, while some critics warned awards could be pulled back if state policies diverge from administration priorities.