On December 29, 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced first-year awards under the new Rural Health Transformation (RHT) Program created by the 2025 reconciliation law. All states applied for and received fiscal year (FY) 2026 funding. A total of $10 billion was awarded, with state allocations ranging from $147 million to $281 million. While the program does not fully offset projected losses in rural health funding streams from Medicaid changes in the same legislation, it provides a significant new resource for transforming how care is delivered in rural areas.
