Maine will be receiving more than $190 million in Fiscal Year 2026 from the federal Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) to strengthen rural health care across the state from the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Governor Mills, 77,  office announed this afternoon.  She is Maine’s Lame Duck Governor as her second term expires next year.

Last month, the Mills administration applied for funding under the $50 bilion Federal iitiative focused on improving the health of Maine people through expanded access to affordable, quality health care, investing in rural health care providers and workers and accelerating technological innovations.

The application was supported by all our members of Maine’s Congresstonal Delegation and leading organizations repreenting health care providers, public health, consumers, employers, higher education institutions, community health workers, tribal entities, emergency medical services and health technology.

The RHTP was created within the Federal budget reconcilitation bill, H.R. 1, signed into law on July 4, 2025.  The law makes significant permanent cuts to health care funding, which are expected to increase the number of uninsured individuals and costs to provide health care over the next several years, particularly in rural areas.  One-dtime funding provided by the RHTP is likely to be only a fractdion of the $5 billion that Maine is estimated to lose under the law.