Hoeven: Setting a Goal to Secure $1 Billion for Rural Health Transformation, Continuum of Care In North Dakota

BISMARCK, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven today held a press conference with Governor Kelly Armstrong and Pat Traynor, Interim Commissioner of the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, toset the goal of securing $1 billion for rural health transformation in North Dakota. Hoeven congratulated Governor Armstrong and his team on putting forward an excellent application that resulted in a $200 million award from the One Big Beautiful Bill (OB3) for the first year of the five-year Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), which is $100 million above the program’s baseline funding. The additional funds were awarded on a competitive basis, reflecting the merits of the state’s application.
This level of funding will be maintained in the coming fiscal years, provided the state meets the milestones outlined in its application and fully expends funds within the allowable period, bringing the potential total five-year funding for North Dakota to $1 billion. Hoeven outlined how years of effort have positioned North Dakota to have a head start in this competitive grant program, stressing the importance of:
“North Dakota put forward an exemplary application for the Rural Health Transformation Program, which secured competitive funding that nearly doubled the amount of funding we were set to receive under the program baseline to $200 million this year. We are positioned to sustain that funding level in future years, which is why we’re setting the goal to bring the total funding under this initiative to $1 billion,” said Hoeven. “This was made possible by our work to build the statewide fiber optic network, which really makes telehealth possible anywhere in the state, as well as our efforts to build new Critical Access Hospitals. The ultimate goal here is to establish a comprehensive continuum of care through rural North Dakota, providing people with cost-effective health care that best meets their individual needs.”
-###-