Gov. Gianforte, DPHHS Announce $233 Million Investment in Montana’s Rural Health Care

President Trump invests to strengthen rural health in all 50 states

Governor's Office

HELENA, Mont. - Governor Greg Gianforte and Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) Director Charlie Brereton today announced a historic $233 million investment from the Trump administration to stabilize and modernize rural health care delivery throughout Montana.

This investment reflects the first-year award of a five-year federal grant program, with Montana currently set to receive up to $1.2 billion over the life of the program. Secured through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), these funds will ensure long-term, high-quality care for the state's rural communities.

"With this unprecedented funding, we are taking a major step toward modernizing Montana's rural health care systems," Gov. Gianforte said. "Thanks to President Trump, we're launching this program and making a long-term commitment to our rural communities by providing Montana families with the access to health care they deserve."

The announcement follows the successful approval of Montana's application to CMS which was submitted by DPHHS in November. The state received the fourth-highest funding award among all 50 states, signaling the quality and strength of Montana's application.

Established by President Trump's Working Families Tax Cuts legislation, the RHTP provides up to $50 billion nationally through 2030 to help states stabilize, transform, and restructure rural health systems and support essential health care providers with sustainability.

"Every Montanan deserves top-level health care, no matter where they live," Dir. Brereton said. "This landmark funding provides the resources we need to execute our plan, which includes stabilizing our most rural hospitals and bridging the health care divide for families living in every corner of our state."

DPHHS will now submit a revised budget to CMS that aligns with the award, in addition to partnering with the Montana Office of Rural Health to host biannual stakeholder meetings, ensuring ongoing input from the public. The first meeting will be Thursday, January 22.

During the seven-week application development period, DPHHS prioritized sustainable, transformative initiatives designed to be sustained beyond RHTP funding. As the Department transitions to implementation, it will establish a dedicated internal unit to administer the five-year program and select external implementation partners through competitive procurement processes.

DPHHS will collaborate with rural providers, hospitals, community organizations, and other health care stakeholders to deliver five core initiatives tailored to Montana's rural health care challenges.

The five core initiatives are:

• Workforce Development: Focuses on increasing recruitment, expanding clinical training, and retaining rural health care professionals in partnership with the Montana Department of Labor & Industry's 406 JOBS framework which aims to prepare Montanans for high-demand healthcare careers.
• Sustainable Access: Stabilizes rural facility finances through restructuring recommendations and increased clinical and administrative partnerships. This component includes funding for the expansion of telehealth services, linking rural hospitals with statewide specialists, and providing one-time-only awards for necessary telehealth equipment.
• Innovative Care Models: Strengthens and expands value-based payment models and better leverages EMS and pharmacy services, with an emphasis on reducing emergency room admissions and other preventable high-cost care interventions.
• Community Health and Prevention: Provides for infrastructure upgrades and initiatives that incentivize healthy lifestyles and increase health care access points, including expanding primary, behavioral, and dental health services in schools through partnerships with Federally Qualified Health Centers and other providers.
• Technology Innovation: Focuses on using technology to increase access to health care services and improve data quality and sharing. This component includes funding for rural providers to modernize their Electronic Health Record systems.

DPHHS incorporated vital rural health metrics, including those pertaining to glycemic status, hypertension, obesity, and suicide rates, into its long-term commitment to evaluating and monitoring Montana-specific RHTP outcomes.

Submitted to CMS following several weeks of public outreach, the state's RHTP plan reflects input from Montana's hospitals, over 20 rural health stakeholders, all eight tribal nations and Urban Indian Organizations, and other state agencies. DPHHS also integrated feedback from a 900-registrant webinar and over 300 formal responses to an agency-led Request for Information.

RHTP funding was allocated to states based on a federal formula: 50% divided equally among all states with approved plans, 25% based on states' rurality, and 25% based on how well each state's proposed plan aligns with CMS criteria.

More information about the RHTP can be found at ruralhealth.mt.gov. The announcement from CMS can be read here.

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