CMS Invests $50B in Rural Health: Building the Digital Infrastructure for 2026 and Beyond
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced that all 50 states will receive a share of $50 billion in awards through the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP). These awards aim to strengthen and modernize rural healthcare across the country by expanding access to care, strengthening the rural health workforce, and supporting innovative care models.
How Much Will Each State Receive?
Funding will begin in 2026 and occur over five years. States will receive between $147 million to $281 million in the first year. Top funded states include Texas, Alaska, California, Montana, and Oklahoma. The full list available here.
This historic amount of funding will transform how local hospitals, clinics, and providers care for rural patients. It will bring more care within reach to patients who, in many cases, drive hours to reach the closest provider. Nearly 60 million Americans live in regions where hospitals have closed, and providers serve entire counties with limited support.
Investment in Digital Care Tools
The program modernizes rural health infrastructure and technology to meet the demands of a shifting digital landscape. It builds ‘digital bridges’ that connect isolated communities to AI clinical tools, remote patient monitoring, and hardened cybersecurity—giving small clinics big-city capabilities. In addition to these digital bridges, regional networks will establish “hub-and-spoke” models and data-sharing platforms to coordinate specialty care across multiple rural counties. The result of this shared infrastructure will not only provide more efficient care for patients but will also save health systems money for decades to come.
The combination of these reforms allow for advances in innovative care models and payment reform. CMS is advocating for more value-based care by testing new payment structures that reward providers for patient wellness and health outcomes rather than the number of procedures performed. This is imperative given the epidemic of chronic disease afflicting rural America. By better treating chronic illnesses, patients will need fewer visits to the emergency department and will experience fewer complications throughout their care journey.
Meeting Patients Where They’re At
Beyond reducing travel times, this funding equips patients with tools for preventative care. Several states are already prioritizing evidence-based models like food-as-medicine and chronic disease prevention to transform rural health outcomes. New initiatives will also work to improve services for maternal health, behavioral health, and emergency health through treat-in-place options.
To further improve patient access, this funding will create local pipelines for the rural clinical workforce. Many times, specialists move away from their hometowns in search of opportunities in larger cities, which perpetuates the labor gap in rural areas. To break this cycle, CMS is allocating funds for clinical residencies and recruitment bonuses, requiring a five-year commitment to keep doctors and nurses in their hometowns.
Shared National Purpose
To better implement these programs, states will meet annually and collaborate at the CMS Rural Health Summit, held during the CMS Quality Conference in 2026 (March 16 – March 18). The Rural Health Summit will help states share learned lessons, highlight effective models, and accelerate innovation across regions. Healthcare companies are very optimistic about the future of rural health thanks to this combination of funding, innovation, and collaboration.
The long-term investment from CMS and especially the emphasis on innovation and technology create a massive opportunity to rearchitect care delivery. At eVisit, our hope is for these funds to empower healthcare delivery systems nationwide to replicate the rural health success stories we’ve built with our partners.
To help, we’ve created a new Resource Hub for Hospitals and Health Systems, Contractors and Consultants, State Rural Health Offices, and Federal Agencies as they navigate this exciting and historic new chapter in rural healthcare. View the resources here or by clicking on the image below.
RESOURCE CENTER
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