NEBRASKA — Nebraska has committed about $136 million in federal funding to rural hospitals, health organizations, and other partners as the state works to distribute its first round of money through the Rural Health Transformation Program.
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services says nearly 200 grant agreements have been awarded so far. Nebraska received $218.5 million for the first year of the program and is expected to receive the same annual amount over five years.
The program was created through federal legislation approved last year and is intended to strengthen health care access and services in rural communities across the country. Nebraska must obligate its remaining first-year funding by Oct. 30 or risk having unused money redistributed to other states.
Among the larger awards is roughly $18 million for the Nebraska High Value Network, a partnership involving 22 rural hospitals across the state. The funding will support remote patient monitoring technology that allows health care providers to track certain patient health measurements from hospitals and patients’ homes.
The project also includes improvements to data systems so participating hospitals can combine information from remote monitoring devices and evaluate whether the technology is reducing emergency room visits and improving management of chronic health conditions.
Other Rural Health Transformation Program initiatives are targeting a wide range of needs. Those include technology and infrastructure improvements at critical access and rural emergency hospitals, emergency medical services training, oral health programs, chronic disease management, and expanded behavioral health and substance use services.
Funding opportunities also include programs connecting schools and food pantries with local food producers and efforts aimed at improving health education and encouraging healthier behaviors.
DHHS officials say some awards listed in Nebraska’s larger population centers will ultimately benefit rural communities. The department’s funding dashboard records money based on an organization’s business address or headquarters, meaning universities, health systems, and other organizations based in urban areas may be using the funding for rural clinics, training, or other programs outside those counties.
One initiative is designed to recruit and retain health care workers in rural Nebraska. Providers receiving incentives through the program are required to serve rural areas for five years.
As of July 7, the state’s dashboard also showed that about $3 million had been awarded to organizations outside Nebraska that are partnering on projects within the state.
DHHS expects currently available funding opportunities to account for Nebraska’s full $218.5 million first-year allocation. While grants must be obligated by the end of October, recipients will have until the end of September 2027 to spend the money.