- Deadline to submit comments to the survey is August 14.
The Mississippi Division of Medicaid is seeking public input into the disbursement of federal funding under a new grant program called the Rural Health Transformation Fund.
Funding for the Rural Health Transformation Fund was approved last month as part of the budget reconciliation process for fiscal 2025 under H.R.1, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).
Under Section 71401 of the bill, Section 2105 of the Social Security Act was amended to set aside $50 billion in grant funds for the program. Those funds will be distributed over five years, or $10 billion per fiscal year until 2030.
Funding as part of Rural Health Transformation Program will be distributed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to all 50 states.
Richard Roberson, CEO and president of Mississippi Hospital Association, spoke about the program briefly during a State of Play event held on July 9th by the MHA, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network of Mississippi, Center for Mississippi Health Policy and the American Heart Association. He said the expectation is 50 percent of the total grant funding will be distributed evenly between states.
If that is the case, it will be beneficial for states like Mississippi with smaller populations that have high rates of rural areas.
“We are right around 54, 55 percent of our population lives in areas that the federal government designates as rural,” Roberson said during the event. “We’ve got hospitals in rural parts of the state that have struggled for a long time. And if folks are being honest, the entire system depends on those rural hospitals.”
He added the program is not just for hospitals.
According to information posted on the Mississippi Division of Medicaid’s website, Governor Tate Reeves’ office, in coordination with the Mississippi Division of Medicaid (DOM) and the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH), are utilizing this survey along with a stakeholder forum to develop a plan before applying for the funds. That information will be used to submit applications to the federal government so Mississippi’s rural healthcare providers can receive the grant funding.
Selection of the initiatives that have applied for funding will be made by the Office of the Governor.
Public comment can be submitted via the Mississippi Division of Medicaid’s website by August 14. Applications under the program have to be approved by the Health and Human Services Secretary by December 31.
Jeremy Pittari
