JACKSON, Wyo. — Wyoming’s Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) has opened its application window for funding opportunities related to strengthening rural health care, and the Teton County Health Department (TCHD) is preparing to apply.
TCHD Director of Health Travis Riddell told Buckrail that the agency is planning to apply for multiple initiatives, including those related to technology, improving integrated primary care, and care coordination for dual Medicare/Medicaid recipients. Though Riddell could not talk about the specific projects to which TCHD hopes to direct the potential funds, he did say they are firming up ideas and working with other organizations for portions that require multiple joint applicants.
The context behind the RHTP is concerning to Riddell, because the program was created last year through Congress’ passage of H.R.1, formerly known as One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Riddell said the legislation contains many downsides in terms of health care funding, including cuts and changes to Medicaid and Medicare. He said that overall, rural communities are expected to have access to fewer financial resources, which is “somewhat offset” by RHTP.
“All that said, I think rural health care in this country is in a really rough spot right now, in Wyoming and nationally,” Riddell said. “And I appreciate the focus at the federal level on that problem, and I appreciate their willingness to engage.”
In November 2025, the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) applied for a portion of the $50 billion RHTP federal fund (the program plans to disperse $10 billion to states annually for five years). A month later, Wyoming was awarded $205 million, but the state’s plans for the money weren’t approved by the feds until May. Riddell appreciates the bottom-up approach that gives local communities and health care providers the chance to brainstorm, create and implement their own solutions.
“This is not the federal government saying, ‘Here’s some money, you need to use it on X and Y and Z.'” Riddell said. “Every state came up with their own ideas, and now in Wyoming, the state is passing that [funding] down to the local levels for us to come up with our own ideas for use of these funds. So I think in a lot of ways, it’s this grand experiment — we’ll be seeing different communities all over the country using these funds for different new innovative ideas. And there will be a lot of opportunity to learn what works and what doesn’t work through this process.”
Riddell is also on the state-level committee that will review RHTP applications from across the state. He said that for each initiative application, the applicant includes a funding request based on the content and goals of the project. One organization could potentially apply to the same initiative multiple times for different projects.
The application period closes on Aug. 2, and the state committee will convene on Aug. 9 to begin reviewing submissions. The WDH plan requires all funds to be distributed before Oct. 1. Learn more about Wyoming’s RHTP application here.
