Governor Ivey Announces Alabama Plan Submitted for Rural Health Transformation Program

MONTGOMERY – Governor Kay Ivey on Wednesday announced Alabama’s plan for the federal Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) has been submitted to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The One Big Beautiful Bill Act – which President Trump supported and Congress passed in July – includes the RHTP, a multi-year, $50 billion program that empowers states to strengthen rural communities across America by improving healthcare access, quality and outcomes by transforming the healthcare delivery system.

“As someone from Wilcox County, making meaningful improvements in how we deliver health care in rural Alabama is critically important to me. Thanks to President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, states have an opportunity to make transformational change that will benefit citizens and communities for generations,” said Governor Ivey. “Making America Healthy Again begins in rural America, and I look forward to the state and federal governments working together to improve health care across the state.”

The Alabama Rural Health Transformation Program (ARHTP) includes 11 initiatives:

• Collaborative Electronic Health Record (EHR), IT and Cybersecurity Initiative
• Rural Health Initiative
• Maternal and Fetal Health Initiative
• Rural Workforce Initiative
• Cancer Digital Regionalization Initiative
• Simulation Training Initiative
• Statewide EMS Trauma and Stroke Initiative
• EMS Treat-In-Place Initiative
• Mental Health Initiative
• Community Medicine Initiative
• Rural Health Practice Initiative

The 11 initiatives are complementary approaches to help rural healthcare facilities become more financially viable, increase access to critical healthcare services and improve quality of care and patient health outcomes. Some of the initiatives’ prominent goals are to foster shared-services and enhanced communications and collaboration between healthcare facilities, dramatically scale up Alabama’s rural healthcare workforce, expand healthcare access through adoption of telehealth and other modern technologies and create needed efficiencies in Alabama’s healthcare delivery system.

The ARHTP was developed by a core team, including the Governor’s Office, the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA), the Alabama Department of Finance, the Alabama Medicaid Agency and the Alabama State Health Planning and Development Agency. Governor Ivey also sought input from dozens of stakeholders around the state and established a 20-person workgroup of healthcare experts and lawmakers to help inform the process and develop the plan.

“My team left no stone unturned as it gathered information to submit our plan,” Governor Ivey continued. “It is a thoughtful, strategic plan that must be coupled with state policy changes to maximize effectiveness. Once implemented, the initiatives and policy changes will make meaningful improvements to healthcare in rural Alabama. They will help fulfil President Trump’s goal to Make America Healthy Again, and I have no doubt they will help Alabamians become healthier.”

ADECA, which has managed state and federal funding programs for decades, will administer the ARHTP once funding is awarded. Consistent with other programs, ADECA will develop rules and publish additional information that will help healthcare providers and other eligible recipients apply and compete to help fulfil programs established by each of the 11 ARHTP initiatives.

Funding awards from CMS are expected to be announced by the end of the year.

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