WYOMING — The state of Wyoming has been awarded $205 million in federal funding dedicated to strengthening access to rural health care.
The Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) was created through the passage of H.R.1 – One Big Beautiful Bill Act by Congress in July. The Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) submitted its application for a slice of the $50 billion fund in November after hosting an online survey and 11 local town hall meetings.
“I would like to thank all of the Wyomingites who participated in town halls, online meetings, and the survey across the state,” WDH Director Stefan Johansson said via press release. “While there are a lot of details inside this award that we are still reviewing, I am confident we will be able to move forward with implementation in the coming months.”
The press release sent from Gov. Mark Gordon’s desk on Dec. 29 states that the funding is intended to support the following Wyoming health priorities:
- Chronic disease prevention and behavioral health
- Critical care access hospitals across rural Wyoming
- Access to labor and delivery services in rural communities
- Innovative approaches to care delivery and payment models
- Workforce development and training
- Technological and consumer health solutions
- Information technology advances and technical assistance
RHTP is administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which plans to distribute $10 billion annually for five years. Half of the funds will be equally distributed to states with approved applications, with the other half being allocated by CMS based on a variety of factors.
“I am excited for what this award means for health care in Wyoming, particularly for our rural communities across the state,” Gordon said in the statement. “Thanks to President Trump, Wyoming now has a unique opportunity to help address some of our state’s most challenging rural healthcare issues like hospital viability, EMS sustainability, OB care, and bolstering workforce.”
According to PBS, $12 billion of the $50 billion total is prioritized for states with certain health policies promoted by the Trump Administration’s Make America Healthy Again initiative. In its application, Wyoming highlighted actions such as utilizing the Presidential Fitness Test in schools and disallowing Supplemental Nutrition Access Program (SNAP) payments from being used for food with “no nutrition.”
