Harrisburg, PA – The Shapiro Administration today unveiled its Rural Health Transformation Plan (RHTP), which serves as Pennsylvania’s application for support from the federal Rural Health Transformation Fund and comprehensive plan to support innovation and improve access to essential health services in rural communities so Pennsylvanians of all ages can access timely, high-quality care close to home.
If approved by the federal government, the RHTP will provide up to $200 million per year for five years to improve health care access, quality, and outcomes in rural communities across Pennsylvania. The funding will be used to make investments that allow rural health providers to better use technology to support access to high-quality, evidence-based care. This work will also be focused on supporting the rural health workforce through recruitment and retention initiatives that help people at all levels of the health care system grow their career in rural communities. Pennsylvania’s RHTP will strengthen rural health care and bolster overall economic development by building systems of care that can support growing communities.
The plan is available on DHS’ website.
“Pennsylvania is home to the third-largest rural population in the country, and our rural communities face unique challenges when it comes to public health and access to health care. A strong, accessible, affordable health care system is the foundation of any healthy community, and health care is essential to the economic growth, population revitalization, and stabilization of our rural communities,” said DHS Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh. “Now more than ever, we must come together and build partnerships and solutions to protect access to health care for rural Pennsylvanians, which is why we are excited by the opportunity the RHTP creates to invest in our rural communities.”
“To inform the Shapiro Administration’s work to support rural health care, over the past two years, I visited rural hospitals throughout the Commonwealth to gain a better understanding of the strengths and challenges they face and learn what they need to thrive,” said Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen. “Through these discussions and the regional rural health convenings, we consistently heard a need to focus our work in rural areas on transportation, EMS, maternal health workforce recruitment and retention. We are excited to work with our fellow agencies to ensure that the funding made available in the Rural Health Transformation Plan addresses those community-identified needs.”
The Commonwealth’s robust RHTP was informed by the experiences and feedback of stakeholders across the Commonwealth. DHS, DOH, along with the Pennsylvania departments of Aging, Drug and Alcohol Programs, and Insurance, worked collaboratively with rural community stakeholders and community members for more than two years, hosting listening sessions, regional rural health summits, and, most recently specific to this funding opportunity, open feedback opportunities.
Based on the feedback received, the Shapiro Administration drafted a comprehensive RHTP in line with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) primary goals. The Commonwealth’s RHTP initiatives focus on:
Technology & Infrastructure, including the use of consumer-facing applications that support easy access to primary and specialty care;
Workforce, including supporting incentives like upfront scholarships, mentoring, short-term housing, and stipends based on a five-year commitment to service in rural communities;
Maternal Health Services to provide comprehensive care management and navigation between prenatal and postpartum care, behavioral health, and other services to support safe and healthy pregnancies and parenting;
Behavioral Health Services like expanding 988 services & continuing public education on crisis response services;
Aging and Access to facilitate safe transitions from hospitalization to care at home and support quality of care in rural long-term care facilities; and
EMS & Transportation to modernize rural EMS infrastructure to improve efficiency and sustainability.
In the reconciliation bill that President Trump signed into law on July 4, 2025, Congress established $50 billion in five-year, one-time grants designed to support rural health. The federal budget bill outlines that $100 million of this funding will be distributed equally among states. All other funding will be allocated at the discretion of CMS based on submitted applications, and funding cannot be used to supplant federal funding otherwise lost from other cuts and program changes. CMS will decide on states’ RHTP applications by December 31, 2025.
Investing Further in Pennsylvania’s Rural Communities
In addition to the RHTP, Governor Josh Shapiro’s 2025-26 budget makes common-sense, strategic investments to further support Pennsylvania’s rural health care providers and access to health care in rural communities, including:
$10 million for rural hospitals to leverage an additional $25.1 million in federal matching funds, bringing total support to $35.1 million. This builds off work started with the 2024-25 budget that invested a total of $36.7 million in state and federal funding to support hospitals in rural communities.
Enhancing universal postpartum depression screenings and intervention efforts to ensure timely and equitable access to maternal and mental health care for mothers.
Northern Tier Regional Rural Health Summit
Last week, DHS Secretary Arkoosh and DOH Secretary Bogen highlighted the Governor’s commonsense, strategic investments in rural health care and hospitals in the 2025-26 budget in Williamsport during the Northern Tier Regional Rural Healthcare Summit hosted by Pennsylvania College of Technology and the Guthrie Clinic.
“We were privileged to co-host this summit with Penn College,” said Dr. Edmund Sabanegh, President and CEO of The Guthrie Clinic. “It was inspiring to see leaders unite around strengthening rural health care. We are especially grateful to Secretary Arkoosh and Secretary Bogen for their leadership and for prioritizing rural workforce recruitment and retention in the 2025–2026 budget proposal. We also appreciate the support of our local, state, and federal elected officials who share our commitment to rural communities. Their partnership, along with the insights shared today, will help advance collaboration and expand access to care. At Guthrie, we remain committed to delivering high-quality health care to every patient we serve, no matter where they live.”
The Northeast Pennsylvania Regional Rural Healthcare Summit was hosted by Pennsylvania College of Technology and brought together local leaders, rural health advocates, and health care providers from Bradford, Clinton, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, and Wyoming counties to foster thoughtful discussion, address pressing challenges, and develop clear next steps that will lead to meaningful progress for the region. Conversations explored topics laid out in the RHTP, such as access to maternity care, addressing workforce challenges, and how health systems and higher education can impact rural health care.
For more information on rural health initiatives in Pennsylvania, visit dhs.pa.gov/ruralhealth.