Texas will receive more than $1.4 billion in federal funding over five years to address health care and access needs in rural areas.
The funding comes through the Rural Health Transformation Program established by the tax and spending bill passed earlier this year. Texas will receive $281 million every year for five years – the largest amount awarded to any state.
"We will strengthen our rural hospitals, expand access to critical mental and physical health care, and help reduce chronic disease through wellness and nutrition initiatives," Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement Monday.
The Rural Health Transformation Program includes a one-time federal appropriation of $50 billion for all states in the program. As a state with a large rural population, Texas officials hoped to receive a significant amount of funding.
Texas has 4.3 million rural residents, according to the funding application. Of the state's 254 counties, the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy identified 241 with at least one census area that's considered rural – and 195 are considered fully rural.
Large portions of the state's population live in care deserts, where people may not have accessible doctors, OBGYNs or emergency medical services.
Texas requested $1 billion – or $200 million each year – from federal health officials, but was awarded millions of dollars more.
The state submitted its application for the program to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in early November. The proposal introduced the "Rural Texas Strong" project, which is built on several initiatives ranging from workforce development to use of AI in rural health care.
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission will use a "competitive process" to distribute funding to local governments, rural hospitals, rural community health centers and other groups, according to Abbott's statement.
The funding will go towards grants to reduce chronic disease, investments in technology to engage with patients, workforce development and retention, improvements to cybersecurity and upgrades to equipment in rural hospitals and clinics.
"Thanks to the input and partnership of our rural healthcare stakeholders, Texas now has the opportunity for innovative and tailored solutions that will improve health care for current and future generations of Texans," HHSC executive commissioner Cecile Young said in a statement.
Abigail Ruhman is KERA's health reporter. Got a tip? Email Abigail at aruhman@kera.org.
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