What we're trying to achieve
All Pennsylvanians deserve access to quality health care, no matter where they live.
In rural Pennsylvania, hospitals, clinics, and health care workers face unique challenges—but also great opportunities. The Commonwealth is working with local communities, providers, doctors, nurses, and leaders to improve rural health care, keep hospitals strong, and make care more affordable.
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Improve rural health care,
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Keep hospitals open & strong,
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Make health care more affordable.
Help Improve Rural Health in Pennsylvania
Help shape the future of rural health in Pennsylvania. Sign up to receive updates on upcoming Rural Health Summits, opportunities to share your insights, and ways to collaborate with local leaders, providers, and community members.
Your voice matters—stay connected and help make a difference in rural communities across the Commonwealth.
“Thank you for Feedback on PA's Rural Health Transformation Plan”
The Departments of Human Services wants to express gratitude to the many Pennsylvanians who submitted concepts for consideration under the Rural Health Transformation Plan. We were encouraged to receive nearly 300 submissions, reflecting both the innovative ideas and the strong work already underway in communities across the Commonwealth. Your input will help guide our efforts to ensure rural Pennsylvanians have access to high-quality, sustainable health care across our rural regions. We are grateful for your partnership and commitment to strengthening health care in our rural communities.
Challenges & Opportunities
Many rural communities in PA struggle with hospital closures, doctor shortages, and long travel times for care.
But there are solutions! Telehealth, local partnerships, and new workforce programs are helping improve access and keep healthcare strong.
CHALLENGE
Limited Access to Health Care
Many rural communities in Pennsylvania have fewer hospitals, doctors, and specialists. Long travel times and provider shortages make it harder for people to get the care they need.
OPPORTUNITY
Regional Rural Health Care Summits
The Rural Health Summits bring local leaders together to find solutions, like expanding telehealth, supporting rural hospitals, and training more healthcare workers.
Highlights
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Working with partners to identify ways to increase payments to rural hospitals DHS has been working with partners to identify ways to increase payments to rural hospitals, both through efforts with State Directed Payments (SDP) and efforts from Act 54 of 2024 that created a pathway for additional funding to PA's rural hospitals. In aggregate these two programs provide $99 million (annualized) in Medicaid payments to rural hospitals pending federal approval.
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An increase of over $60 million This is an increase of over $60 million (annualized) compared to FY 2023-24, with $36.7 million coming from the fiscal code rural hospital stabilization funding.
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$12 million increase to PA’s critical access hospitals The total increase to PA’s 17 federally-designated critical access hospitals is about $12 million, $3.7 million of which is available from this fiscal code rural hospital stabilization funding and federal match.
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$16 million increase to PA's 12 PARHM hospitals The total increase to PA’s 12 PARHM hospitals (PA has 18 PARHM hospitals, 6 of which are federally-designated critical access hospitals thus included in the figures in the prior bullet) is about $16 million, $6.5 million of which is available from this fiscal code rural hospital stabilization funding and federal match.
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$32.5 million increase to PA's remaining 37 rural hospitals The total increase to the remaining 37 rural hospitals is $32.5 million, $26.5 million of which is available from this fiscal code rural hospital stabilization funding and federal match.
"I Am a Rural Pennsylvanian"
poem written by Mark Stephens MD for the Juniata College Regional Rural Healthcare Summit
I am the low hum of wind through the tall, green corn,
The deep, earthy scent of hay freshly cut, a memory vibrant.
I am the dirt in these boots, ingrained, deep.
From sun-up chores to starlit quiet.
....
I grew up where the horizon stretched, uninterrupted,
A tapestry woven by seasons, hiding nothing.
Barefoot on welcoming porch swings, chasing fireflies as dusk settled,
Learning life's vital lessons, from dawn's first glimpse ‘til sunset’s fading light.
I pledge my hands, ..4H rooted lessons deep within me.
From the nervous flutter of public speaking to
raising market lambs, facing a judge's assessing eye.
Community built, leadership practiced,
Friendships forged, a silent pride swelling, expanding over time.
Planting seeds of future dreams, a hope every rural soul carries.
But shadows lengthen now, across our grand fields,
A quiet, growing struggle, woven into the rural landscape.
For the promise of revitalization, won't truly take hold, won't truly ascend,
Unless we tend to the well-being of our people, with all our collective strength.
Imagine the worry pressed onto faces, when a baby's almost here,
And the nearest maternity care is miles, hours away.
Anxious drives, hurried breaths, gnawing isolation.
Our mothers, our infants, deserve a gentle, nearby embrace,
Not endless roads, or sterile waiting rooms, a cold forgotten space.
And quiet battles fought alone, behind closed farmhouse doors,
Farmer suicide is real! Burdens carried in silence, until they can be carried no more.
A whispered plea, a fear of shame that endures, keeping people hidden,
While silent struggles fester, and rural sadness grows.
We need counselors, therapists, hands reaching out to find,
A path to healing, to understanding, for body and for mind.
The wisdom of age, a cherished gift, yet in rural lands, it's often a silent strife.
For our elders, the golden years can bring isolation, a lonely, quiet life.
Access to specialists, in-home care, and community's gentle embrace,
Are often scarce resources, leaving vulnerability in their place.
We must ensure our seniors, who built these fields and bore our rural pride,
Have comfort, dignity, and care, for them we must abide.
The open road, a symbol of freedom, becomes a barrier to in rural space,
When miles stretch long for folks to reach a healing, welcoming place.
Public transport is a whisper, oft unheard, unseen,
Leaving many without a ride, to reach their healthcare needs.
Emergency rooms grow distant, a lifeline hard to seize,
And chronic conditions worsen, bringing rural communities to their knees.
Let us think of innovative solutions, transport woven into our design,
So that access to care is not a luxury, but a right, for all to find.
So as we speak of progress, ambitious plans, economic gain,
Remember these deep currents, that shape our current pain.
I am a Rural Pennsylvanian, stories echo in my soul,
For our future's full flourishing, comprehensive healthcare is what can make us whole.
From birth's first fragile cry to wisdom's seasoned gaze, from transport to the troubled mind,
Let wellness be the harvest, for all of us to find.