New Resource: Understanding the Rural Health Transformation Program Funding Awards

Last year, Congress passed and the President signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which established the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) to improve the nation’s rural health care system. Half of the RHTP’s funding is being distributed through a competitive grant process between the states. 

In December 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced its first-year RHTP state awards, totalling $10 billion. All 50 states received funding, which disproportionately benefitted states with larger rural populations (or larger rural populations per capita). The new resource below from USofCare outlines how states plan to use this funding and, in particular, highlights innovative ways in which states are advancing patient-first care reforms to lower costs, increase outcomes, and promote provider financial sustainability.