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A century-old rural Michigan hospital converted to a stripped-down model Congress created to help keep small facilities afloat, then it closed. The emergency hospital model, created a few years ago, is stabilizing some hospitals, arrived too late for others, and now faces major challenges under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News is working to collect and post approved plans as more states respond to emails and public records requests for their documents.
Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, framed the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program as ābold, creative plansā led by states. But as states have started to roll out their plans, federal officials control where and how the money is spent.
Republicans promise that $50 billion in new health funding will help rural America. But itās not expected to aid the years-long effort in North Carolinaās Martin County to reopen its only hospital.
A $50 billion federal fund is supposed to modernize rural health with electronic health records, AI, telehealth, and more. But community clinics and rural health advocates fear that the contractors administering the money for states will bite off a big chunk before it reaches rural patients.
Some Republican state lawmakers and state health associations are pushing back against spending plans under the Trump administrationās $50 billion federal rural health fund. Federal administrators already approved statesā plans, but in many cases, state lawmakers must greenlight spending.
Alabama, a state with one of the nationās highest infant mortality rates, is betting on robots to help fix its maternal care crisis. But the stateās plan for telerobotic ultrasounds in rural areas has raised doubts.
Every state will receive at least $100 million annually from the federal Rural Health Transformation fund, but some scored millions more based on how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services judged the āqualityā of their plans and willingness to pass policies embracing "Make America Healthy Again" initiatives.
There has been a steep rise in the share of people with severe mental illnesses being sent to state psychiatric hospitals on court orders after being accused of serious crimes. The shift has all but halted patientsā ability to get care before they have a catastrophic crisis.
On Idahoās remote Fort Hall Reservation, thousands live without reliable high-speed internet, which supports health care, education, and daily life. Facing delays and wavering federal policy, Frances Goli is determined to spend more than $22 million in federal grant money before she runs out of time.
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Proposals from states that have shared their applications to a new $50 billion rural health program include using drones to deliver medication, installing refrigerators to expand access to healthy produce, and bringing telehealth to libraries, day cares, and senior centers.
Amid public forums and local cries for help, states are also talking with large health systems, technology companies, and others amid intensifying competition for shares of a $50 billion fund to improve rural health.
States are battling for their piece of $50 billion in federal rural health funding, but itās not just hospitals vying for the money. Tech startups and policy demands are raising the stakes as Medicaid cuts loom.
President Donald Trump called the Digital Equity Act unconstitutional, racist, and illegal. Then the $2.75 billion program for rural and underserved communities to gain internet access disappeared.
North Carolina and Idaho are cutting their Medicaid programs to bridge budget gaps, raising fears that providers will stop taking patients and that hospitals will close even before the brunt of a new federal tax-and-budget law takes effect.
In this video report, InvestigateTV and Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News take viewers to Alabama, Idaho, and West Virginia to explore how gaps in internet connectivity and telehealth access cause residents to live sicker and die younger on average than their peers in well-connected regions.
The workforce of a federal agency that oversees billions in grants for primary health care, HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health services, and workforce training has been slashed, sparking fears of whatās to come.
Lawmakers added a $50 billion program for rural health to President Donald Trumpās massive tax and spending package with promises it would help plug the hole left by Medicaid cuts. Rural hospital and clinic leaders worry the infusion wonāt reach the right places.
A Trump administration reworking of a $42 billion broadband expansion program will trigger delays as millions of rural Americans wait for promised connections and the telehealth services they bring.
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