Little Rock – In July, the federal government’s passage of HR1, the Big Beautiful Bill, established the Rural Health Transformation (RHT) Program. The program established $50 billion to be allocated to the States over a ten-year period to alleviate concerns over the cuts to Medicaid in the bill. Half of the funding will be divided equally among the 50 states and the remaining funds will be made available to states through grants distributed by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
In October, Arkansas applied for a portion of the federal funding in the amount of $1 billion that would be paid out in installments over five years. The RHT Program seeks to address the major challenges faced by rural Arkansas. Statistics from the Arkansas Department of Health found that about 45% of Arkansas live in rural areas, making it one of the most rural states in the country. Almost half of our rural hospitals are considered vulnerable to closure.
The state’s proposal is divided into four subsections: Promoting Access, Coordination, and Transformation (PACT), Healthy Eating, Active Recreation, and Transformation (HEART), Recruitment, Innovation, Skills, and Education for Arkansas (RISE AR) and Telehealth, Health-monitoring, and Response Innovation for Vital Expansion (THRIVE).
The PACT initiative is the costliest, with $400 million for initiatives including primary care, specialty care, preventive screenings, and telehealth services in underserved communities. The plan would focus on Clinically Integrated Networks (CIN) to improve efficiency, data sharing and regional collaboration. PACT ensures that rural residents can access timely, coordinated care close to home.
The HEART initiative would cost approximately $150 million to create a community-driven approach to nutrition, physical activity and chronic disease management. HEART would strengthen rural health systems by integrating school programs, community-based initiatives, faith organizations, and healthcare education. In addition, it would provide $10 million for school-based clinics and mobile care units.
With approximately $161 million, the RISE AR initiative would focus on recruitment and training programs, increasing medical school rotation slots and new workplace retention methods.
The strategy for THRIVE would be funded at approximately $267 million to upgrade EMS and emergency response systems. The initiative would also be invested in telehealth infrastructure, including cybersecurity and network upgrades, with nearly $92 million to be used for launching remote pilot programs for chronic diseases.
CMS is currently in the review process of the RHT grants that will be awarded by the end of this year. According to the National Rural Health Association, each state is given a score dependent on rural facilities and population estimates based on factors outlined by the CMS.
The Rural Health Transformation Program presents an opportunity to invest in promoting an innovative and sustainable healthcare system in rural Arkansas. Through proper funding and implementation, the program has the potential to improve the long-term financial viability of Arkansas’ rural healthcare. The application for the grant can be found at: https://governor.arkansas.gov/arkansas-rural-health-transformation-program-application/.
