Mississippi’s Rural Healthcare Transformation Program application results in approval of more than $200 million

• The funding is expected to address lack of access to healthcare and staffing shortages in Mississippi.

More than $200 million in federal funding has been awarded to the state of Mississippi to help address rural healthcare deficiencies, Governor Tate Reeves announced Monday. 

Reeves’ office applied for the funding in November through the Rural Healthcare Transformation Program, which is administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Development of that plan included input from a number of healthcare stakeholders within the state. 

“This is another big win for Mississippi,” said Reeves. “When we developed our plan, we worked with experts from across Mississippi. Together, we came up with a strategy that best serves Mississippians and makes the biggest impact on healthcare in rural communities throughout the state. I’d like to thank President Trump, Secretary Kennedy and Administrator Oz for this once-in-a-generation opportunity. My administration is ready to get to work with our partners to deploy this funding on behalf of the over three million people who live in our great state.”

Mississippi’s approval for the nearly $206 million in funding was the result of the plan submitted in the application, which focuses on addressing healthcare worker shortages and a lack of access to medical providers in rural areas of the state.

By 2031, the Magnolia State’s plan has a goal to make sure  every resident has access to not just telemedicine services, but also high-quality in-person medical care. Increased access to healthcare is expected to increase health outcomes in all of the state’s communities, officials said.

As previously reported, Mississippi’s application focused on six key initiatives: 

• A statewide health assessment conducted by a third party
• A coordinated regional integrated systems initiative to transform healthcare in rural areas of the state
• Workforce expansion initiative to strengthen the number of healthcare workers
• Health technology advancement and modernization initiative to modernize health systems in rural areas
• A tele-health initiative to increase and support providers in increasing access to virtual care
• An initiative that will focus on the healthcare infrastructure in the state to increase access to specialized care and improve health outcomes

Reeve’s office will take the lead on coordination and oversight of the program in concert with the Mississippi Department of Health and the Mississippi Division of Medicaid. The team will track health milestones in the affected areas as well as the funding provided through the program. 

The federal program is expected to provide two pots of funding, with $25 billion set aside to be evenly distributed to each state, equating to about $500 million being provided over five years to each state. Remaining funds are being distributed based on applications that demonstrate existing healthcare needs in rural areas of the nation.