The US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has awarded North Carolina $216,824,573.30 in continued Rural Health Transformation Program funding, state health officials announced Thursday.
The latest tranche includes an initial $100 million CMS distributed to every state last month and lifts North Carolina’s total federal awards under the initiative past $429 million since April 2026. State leaders pledged to channel the funds into rural clinics and workforce recruitment. State officials warned that wider federal Medicaid cuts still threaten long-term healthcare budgets.
According to official press releases from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) and Governor Josh Stein’s office on Thursday, the five-year federal Rural Health Transformation Program supports state investments in clinical technology, workforce recruitment, and regional care delivery. North Carolina previously received more than $213 million during the program’s first year. Future annual awards remain tied to state progress and federal budget decisions.
Alongside the federal award, NCDHHS and state technology officials are administering a Rural Health Innovation Fund distributing roughly $20 million per year for up to five years. According to Julota’s program tracker, first-round applications from primary care practices, federally qualified health centers, and rural safety-net clinics are due November 16 at 11:59 p.m., covering telehealth expansion, electronic health record upgrades, cybersecurity, and clinical decision support. Reimbursable awards are expected in January 2027, with projects required to finish by July 30, 2027.
Created under federal legislation known as H.R. 1, the $50 billion national Rural Health Transformation Program runs from 2026 through 2030, according to the National Association of Community Health Centers. NCDHHS cautioned Thursday that the same federal statute simultaneously reduces federal Medicaid funding to states. State officials projected North Carolina could lose tens of billions of dollars in federal healthcare funding over the next 10 years.
