Twenty-eight rural health care providers across Texas are in line for a combined $8,145,444.89 in federal money under Rural Texas Strong, the state's plan for the federal Rural Health Transformation Program, Gov. Greg Abbott's office announced Thursday, Oct. 22.
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission plans to make the awards, according to the announcement. The money is a slice of the roughly $281.3 million the commission received from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services as Texas' first-year award under the program. The governor's office estimates the federal investment at about $1.4 billion over five years.
Funding will flow once contracts are finalized, and the state says it remains contingent on meeting the program's requirements.
Where the money goes
The release lists three of the plan's six initiatives as the ones this round of grants will advance:
- "Make Rural Texans Healthy Again," aimed at helping rural hospital districts improve outcomes for chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, chronic respiratory disease and obesity.
- "Next Generation of the Small Town Doctor and Team," which supports rural communities in recruiting, training and keeping physicians, emergency medical workers and other health care staff.
- "Infrastructure and Capital Investments for Rural Texas," which pays to replace aging medical equipment and improve existing facilities.
HHSC posted a spreadsheet naming all recipients; it was not accessible when this story was prepared, so the individual awards could not be confirmed.
