Arkansas has been awarded nearly $209 million in federal funding to strengthen rural health care, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced today, marking one of the state’s largest single-year investments in rural health initiatives.
The state will receive $208,779,396 for fiscal year 2026 through President Trump’s Rural Health Transformation Program. Sanders and the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration submitted the state’s application for the funding on Oct. 31.
Sanders said the award reflects a federal priority on improving health care access in rural communities and credited the state’s application process for securing a larger share of the available funding.
“Today’s announcement shows that President Trump and his administration place a priority on improving rural health and Making America Healthy Again,” Sanders said. “Our state went above and beyond in the application process to secure an outsized portion of the funds available through the Rural Health Transformation Program because we know that Arkansas’ smaller communities deserve just as much support as any other region of our state.”
The Rural Health Transformation Program will distribute $50 billion to all 50 states over the next five years, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The funding announced today represents the first-year, initial awards, with additional funding rounds to be announced later.
Arkansas’ application incorporated feedback from physicians, nurses, pharmacists, hospitals, other health care providers, higher education institutions and community-based nonprofits. Sanders also established an online portal that generated more than 300 proposals for potential uses of the funds. Members of the Arkansas General Assembly provided feedback throughout the application process.
The state’s proposal centers on four initiatives: Healthy Eating, Active Recreation, and Transformation, or HEART; Promoting Access Coordination and Transformation, known as PACT; Recruitment Innovation Skills and Education for Arkansas, or RISE AR; and Telehealth Health Monitoring and Response Innovation for Vital Expansion, called THRIVE.
Funding amounts for each initiative will be announced at a later date.
Have a news tip or event to promote? Email White River Now at news@whiterivernow.com. Be sure to like and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. And don’t forget to download the White River Now mobile app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.
Get up-to-date local and regional news/weather from the First Community Bank Newsroom on Arkansas 103.3 KWOZ every weekday morning and afternoon. White River Now updates are also aired on weekday mornings on 93 KZLE, Outlaw 106.5, and Your FM 99.5. Catch CBS News around the top of every hour on 1340 KBTA.
