Sanders Announces Arkansas’ Application for Rural Health Funding

Arkansas to focus on transforming the delivery of rural healthcare

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - On Friday, October 31, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) submitted the state's application for funding from the Rural Health Transformation Program, which was established under President Donald J. Trump's One, Big, Beautiful Bill.

The Rural Health Transformation Program will distribute a total of $50 billion to states for the purpose of strengthening rural healthcare over the course of the next five years. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) within the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services will determine how much each state will be awarded by no later than December 31 based on criteria outlined in the One, Big, Beautiful Bill. Arkansas may be awarded more or less than the proposed budget in its application. The first disbursement of funding to the state is expected in early 2026.

"Improving the health and well-being of all Arkansans is a top priority for my administration," said Governor Sanders. "Thanks to President Trump and his One, Big, Beautiful Bill, the Rural Health Transformation Program will allow us to build on all we have done so far, like investing in maternal health, combatting food insecurity, and promoting better health and nutrition statewide. This funding will not only help us increase access to care but will also reduce inefficiencies throughout the healthcare system, ultimately benefitting Arkansans in smaller communities across the state."

"With a focus on education, prevention and access to care, this program will change the health of generations of Arkansans," said Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration Secretary Jim Hudson. "I am thankful for Governor Sanders' leadership and vision in shaping the application. I also want to acknowledge the significant work by ADH Secretary Renee Mallory, DHS Secretary Janet Mann, Dr. Ted Brown, Director of the State Crime Lab, and Arkansas' Surgeon General, Dr. Kay Chandler in preparing the application. Their expertise in healthcare made this application reflect the unique needs of our state."

Arkansas' application to CMS incorporated feedback from stakeholders throughout the state, including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, hospitals, and other healthcare providers, as well as higher education institutions and community-based non-profits. Additionally, Governor Sanders established an online portal where more than 300 ideas for uses of the funding were submitted from across the state. Members of the Arkansas General Assembly also provided feedback on the development of the state's application.

The state's application focuses on four overarching initiatives:

• Healthy Eating, Active Recreation, and Transformation (HEART), a program focused on improving health outcomes and access to preventative care by creating a coordinated, community-driven approach to nutrition, physical activity, and chronic disease management.
• Promoting Access Coordination and Transformation (PACT), which integrates specialty care, preventative screenings, telehealth, and trauma-ready services into rural communities while fostering locally-driven clinically integrated networks to improve efficiency, data sharing, and regional collaboration.
• Recruitment Innovation Skills and Education for Arkansas (RISE AR), which strengthens the rural healthcare workforce through expanded physician residencies and other clinical training programs, provides incentives to recruit and retain healthcare professionals in rural Arkansas, and provides training to ensure leaders and board members of local hospitals and clinics are prepared for the transformation required in rural healthcare.
• Telehealth Health Monitoring and Response Innovation for Vital Expansion (THRIVE), which will leverage AI to provide coordinated patient records across delivery systems and fund telehealth platforms, technology-enabled monitoring for chronic diseases, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, and the modernization of emergency medical transport and services.

All four initiatives will leverage the latest developments in healthcare technology, including patient centered AI, and integrate evidence-based prevention programs, data collection, and analytics to document return on investment and drive continuous improvement in rural healthcare.

Governor Sanders has done several things to improve the health of Arkansans, including signing the Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies Act earlier this year, directing $45 million to promote maternal health. Additionally, as part of her comprehensive strategy to combat food insecurity, she signed SB59 this past legislative session, requiring all Arkansas public schools to provide one free breakfast to students per school day, regardless of their federal eligibility for free meals, and, earlier this summer, Governor Sanders announced the launch of a farm-to-school pilot program, created by her faith-based initiatives office to provide students with fresh, nutritious produce while at school.

Additionally, Governor Sanders worked to ban taxpayer-funded soft drinks and candy from the state's food stamp program and remove cell phones, bell-to-bell, in every Arkansas school. Governor Sanders and her husband, Bryan, also established the Natural State Initiative at the beginning of her administration to promote Arkansas' outdoor recreation industry and get kids off screens and outdoors.

Arkansas' application to CMS for the Rural Health Transformation Program can be downloaded here.

Additional information on the Rural Health Transformation may be found at Rural Health Transformation (RHT) Program | CMS.

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