At a roundtable, the administration touted a $50 billion fund that will make large investments in rural health. That funding would accomplish more if not on the heels of an estimated $137 billion reduction in federal Medicaid spending in rural areas.
www.kff.org/medicaid/how...

New: With first year awards from the rural health transformation fund out, our analysis shows wide variation in the amount per rural resident across states.
www.kff.org/state-health...

The Rural Fund grants are a grab bag from telehealth to mobile health to parks and trails for recreation.

Our analysis based on rural population:

NEW: The initial awards to states under the new federal Rural Health Transformation Program show relatively modest variation in total awards across states but wide variation in how much states will receive per rural resident.

Our analysis: https://on.kff.org/3YW7Hv0

⚡ KFF’s Zachary Levinson writes about the site-neutral payment reform included in the CMS’s 2026 final outpatient prospective payment system rule under traditional Medicare. #QuickTake https://on.kff.org/4odNESQ

The July 2025 reconciliation law created a $50B rural health fund to help offset the impact of the law on rural areas. Our brief suggests that state awards from most of the fund could vary only modestly despite large differences in rural health needs 👇(1/9): www.kff.org/state-health...

CMS's recent announcement includes many new details about the distribution of the rural health fund across states, but questions remain about which states will receive funding and how well awards will align with state need. More in our recent brief: www.kff.org/other-health...

States will receive more from the $50 billion rural health fund if they adopt certain Make America Health Again (MAHA) policies. This and more from a new KFF brief examining CMS's recent funding announcement:
www.kff.org/other-health...

New KFF brief examines CMS's recent rural health fund announcement. While the $50B fund could help rural areas in a number of ways, it's unclear the extent to which it will benefit rural hospitals and offset their losses under the reconciliation law. More from the brief: www.kff.org/other-health...

With today's announcement, it still remains to be seen how much of the $50 billion rural health fund will go to hospitals. According to CMS, payments to providers for care "cannot exceed 15% of the total" though other uses, like capital investments, could also benefit hospitals.

CMS just released its 2026 proposed rule for hospital outpatient payments. Among its proposals: lowering reimbursement for drug administration services at hospitals to the physician reimbursement rate.

Check out our brief to learn more about site neutral policies. www.kff.org/medicare/iss...

One of the biggest flashpoints for the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" has been its impact on roughly 1800 rural hospitals, which is why Senate Republicans are proposing a new $15 billion rural health fund. However, there are still questions and concerns about the bill 👇 (1/7)

A new @KFF analysis finds that Medicaid covers at least one in five hospital inpatient days in nearly every state as Congress considers potential cuts to the program. The data illustrate the importance of Medicaid to hospitals. www.kff.org/medicaid/iss...

New: New: Many rural hospitals are struggling. But, less so in states that have expanded Medicaid under the ACA.

www.kff.org/health-costs...

Federal cuts to #Medicaid could have implications for hospitals - check out new brief: www.kff.org/medicaid/iss...

Medicaid covers about one-fifth of all hospital spending. There's a hospital in pretty much every Congressional district, and it's often one of the biggest employers.

www.kff.org/medicaid/iss...

New @KFF
analysis finds that rural hospitals and those with high Medicaid shares were struggling more than others in 2023. Let’s break down why this and other findings matter in the context of policy options that would reduce spending on hospital care 👇