Ricketts Celebrates Further Award of More than $215 Million for Rural Nebraska Healthcare

Omaha, NE - Today, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) celebrated the award of Rural Health Transformation Program grant money for rural healthcare in Nebraska. This funding comes from a program that was created by Congress earlier this year in the Working Families Tax Cut to strengthen rural healthcare. Senator Ricketts voted in support of the bill.

"This is how you keep rural communities thriving," said Ricketts. "The Rural Health Transformation Program was an important part of the Working Families Tax Cut that Senate Republicans passed earlier this year. This is an investment in the future of rural healthcare and in the future of Nebraska."

BACKGROUND:

The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced awards to all 50 states under the Rural Health Transformation Program. The program, created by Congress earlier this year as part of the Working Families Tax Cut, committed $50 billion to invest in rural healthcare. 50% percent of this funding is split equally among the states, 50% percent is awarded after an application process. Nebraska was awarded an additional $218,529,075.

As a part of CMS' application guidelines, awarded money is to be used to help rural communities expand care reach, strengthen and sustain clinical workforce, modernize rural health infrastructure and technology, drive efficiency, empower community providers, and advance innovative care models.

With their Make Nebraska Healthy Again proposal, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) will build a prevention-first, tech-enabled sustainable rural health care system. More information about their award proposal is available here.