Washington state is in the process of applying for funds from the Rural Health Transformation Program, a federal program established by the Trump Administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act to improve health care in rural communities. 

Ryan Moran, director of the Washington State Health Care Authority, which is spearheading the application process along with other state agencies, said regardless of whether Washington receives the funding, it is still within the context of historic cuts to Medicaid. 

“These funds that we will receive from the rural health transformation will not at all make up for the projected losses that we are seeing here from the state of Washington,” Moran said.

The program will provide qualifying states with at least $100 million per year for five years but Washington is slated to lose between $30 billion and $50 billion in federal Medicaid funds over the next 10 years, leading to the closure of 14 rural hospitals. The application for the Rural Health Transformation Program is due Nov. 5 with awards expected by the end of the year. 

Moran said the funds are designed to support chronic disease prevention, technology innovations and access to care. Though the funds will not be able to compensate for cuts to Medicaid, Moran said the state is taking every available opportunity to support rural communities. 

“We very much from a state’s perspective believe that there is an opportunity to support Washington’s rural health delivery system as we adapt to the major changes that are coming related to funding,” Moran said. 

As part of the application process, Moran said the state collected feedback from hospitals, nonprofits and other stakeholders about their priorities for supporting the state’s rural health systems. He added they received nearly 300 responses, with many putting behavioral health, substance use disorder and building a strong workforce at the top of the state’s to-do list. 

This story was originally published by Washington News Service, a bureau of Public News Service, a national newswire with a local focus with state-level, public interest news.