Readout: CMS Convenes First Rural Health Transformation Summit to Advance State-Led Innovation

Readout: CMS Convenes First Rural Health Transformation Summit to Advance State-Led Innovation

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is leading the historic $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program , partnering with states to strengthen rural health systems, expand access to care, and tackle chronic disease. To advance that work, on March 18, 2026, CMS convened leaders from all 50 states for the first Rural Health Transformation Summit, bringing together state officials and experts to accelerate implementation of the program.

Established under President Trump's Working Families Tax Cut legislation (Public Law 119-21), the Rural Health Transformation Program is designed as a catalytic investment to help states strengthen and modernize their rural health systems. Through this initiative, CMS is partnering with states to expand access to care and improve chronic disease management, strengthen the rural health workforce, modernize infrastructure and technology, and advance innovative, sustainable care models.

The summit brought together state Rural Health Transformation Program directors, CMS leadership, Office of Rural Health Transformation project officers, and subject matter experts to align implementation priorities, exchange perspectives, and support continued progress across rural communities nationwide.

Throughout the gathering, states discussed early implementation efforts aligned with the program's five strategic goals:

• Make Rural America Healthy Again - expanding preventive, primary, maternal, and behavioral health services and addressing root causes of chronic disease.
• Sustainable Access - advancing regional partnerships, hub-and-spoke networks, and coordinated emergency medical services to stabilize rural providers.
• Workforce Development - building rural clinical pipelines, supporting training and residency programs, and increasing recruitment and retention.
• Innovative Care - testing value-based care models and alternative payment approaches tailored to rural communities.
• Tech Innovation - modernizing health IT infrastructure, expanding telehealth and remote patient monitoring, and strengthening cybersecurity and interoperability.

State leaders highlighted practical approaches to strengthening local care delivery - including mobile care units, remote patient monitoring, community-based partnerships, and regional data-sharing platforms designed to improve coordination and expand access close to home. The summit also fostered cross-state dialogue, allowing participants to exchange best practices and build relationships that will support continued collaboration beyond the meeting itself.

Participants emphasized that long-term success would depend on embedding these initiatives into durable financing and workforce structures, including alignment with Medicaid and Medicare payment models and expansion of rural residency and training programs.

As the first dedicated rural health office within CMS, the Office of Rural Health Transformation (ORHT) provides policy and operational guidance, coordinates cross-component collaboration, and works closely with states through assigned project officers to support execution of approved plans while ensuring accountability for outcomes and proper use of funds. The summit, organized by ORHT, marked the launch of an ongoing learning collaborative designed to connect states, share best practices, and provide sustained technical assistance.

Through continued collaboration, CMS and state partners are working to strengthen rural health systems so that families in rural communities have dependable access to high-quality care for years to come.

For more information, visit www.cms.gov/priorities/rural-health-transformation-rht-program .

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