Medication-delivering drones. Telehealth at libraries. Church-hosted wellness events. These are a few ideas proposed by states in their bids to win a portion of the new $50 billion federal Rural Health Transformation Program. Congress approved the five-year spending plan in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the same law that codified nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid spending reductions. That law is expected to have an outsize effect on rural America, where the cuts are expected to slash health funding by $137 billion over 10 years. So, how the rural health fund money rolls out is being watched closely by people like Alan Morgan, chief executive of the National Rural Health Association. State applications were due in early November, and federal officials have promised to announce awards by Dec. 31. “Let’s be clear,” Morgan said. “The hospital CEOs, the clinic administrators, the community leaders: They’re going to want to know what their states are doing.” As of last week, nearly 40 states had released project narratives, the main part of the application, which describes their proposed initiatives. Those include Maryland’s plan to create demand for healthy foods in addition to increasing their supply. “Many rural Maryland children and adults have low intake of fruits, vegetables, and water, and limited engagement in physically active behaviors,” the state said in its application. Among other initiatives, officials propose to start mobile markets and install refrigerators and freezers to improve access in rural areas with limited grocery stores. More than a dozen states have also…
