Gov. Greg Abbott announced the first round of Rural Texas Strong grant awards on Sept. 28, providing $51 million in federal funding through the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to eligible rural hospital districts and authorities, according to a news release from the governor’s office. HHSC issued its own release announcing the same awards.
The funding will help create or improve community-based prevention, wellness and nutrition programs, the governor’s office said. The awards are part of what the release described as a historic investment of an estimated $1.4 billion in federal funding over five years to improve rural healthcare across the state.
“Every community in Texas deserves a health system that provides high-quality, accessible care,” Abbott said in the release. “This $51 million investment through the Rural Texas Strong initiative will empower our rural hospital districts to build stronger, healthier communities through vital preventive care, wellness, and nutrition programs. Texas will ensure our rural families have the resources and state-of-the-art care they need to thrive for generations to come.”
Sixty-eight rural hospital districts and authorities were awarded $750,000 each, the release said. The $51 million is a portion of the $281,319,360.67 first-year award HHSC received from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Rural Health Transformation Program, according to the governor’s office.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, the CMS administrator, said in the release that the federal program rests on a simple idea. “The Trump Administration’s Rural Health Transformation Program is based on one simple idea: your access to quality health care shouldn’t depend on your ZIP code,” he said. “Funding new approaches to expand access to both primary and specialty care is a critical step toward achieving that vision for Texans, and I look forward to seeing these investments drive equally transformative innovations for rural communities nationwide.”
HHS Executive Commissioner Stephanie Muth said HHSC is committed to getting local communities the resources they need. “Investments in rural healthcare will help strengthen the long-term health and resilience of rural Texas for generations to come,” Muth said in the release.
The release said the Rural Texas Strong initiative, branded “Make Rural Texans Healthy Again,” supports rural hospital districts working to improve health outcomes and chronic disease conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease and obesity. Rural Texas Strong is the CMS-approved state plan, is 100 percent federally funded through the Rural Health Transformation Program and includes six initiatives, according to the governor’s office. Federal funding is contingent on meeting all applicable program requirements.
The governor’s office said public notices and procurement opportunities for Rural Texas Strong will be announced through GovDelivery email notifications and posted on the Electronic State Business Daily website.