HHS https://www.hhs.gov has invested over $16 billion to strengthen rural health care. HHS has provided over $350 million to support rural health programs and also reduce morbidity and mortality from substance use disorders in rural communities.
HHS also supports rural hospitals, advances the availability and quality of telehealth nationwide, and works to strengthen the healthcare workforce in rural areas. So far, this includes:
- $110 million to reduce morbidity and mortality from SUD in rural communities, and additional $24 million for rural communities to use to train first responders to provide care when faced with opioid overdoses
- Over $55 million is available in Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Grants to support quality and operational improvements
- $13 million to sustain a Network of State Offices of Rural Health which works to link communities with state, federal and non-profit resources to help find long term solutions to improve rural health
- $11 million for the Rural Residency Planning and Development Program to develop and sustain rural residency programs and to train physicians in rural practice settings
Since many tribal communities face challenges in healthcare access due to the rural, remote, and unique geography of tribal reservations, HHS has invested $6.2 billion to provide high quality healthcare to American Indians and Alaska Natives in non-urban areas.
Telehealth is a vital tool to use to expand access to care and improve health equity, especially for rural and medically underserved communities, and as a result, HHS is investing $34 million to support the advancement of telehealth.
HHS has also received supplemental funding to support rural health which includes $8.5 billion to reimburse rural healthcare providers for healthcare expenses and lost revenues attributable to COVID-19, $398 million to support small rural hospitals in COVID-19 testing efforts, and $558 million to support rural health clinics responding to COVID-19.
HHS is also investing $12 million over four years to help the health of mothers in rural America through the Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (RMOMS) program.