Arkansas is accepting applications for the second round of federal rural health funding, with $93,590,808 available through the Rural Health Transformation Funding program made possible by President Donald Trump’s H.R. 1 bill. The Department of Finance and Administration announced the funding targets the Promoting Access, Coordination, and Transformation category, addressing critical healthcare gaps in rural and underserved communities.
Eligible projects span a broad range of rural health priorities: expanding access to primary, specialty, preventive, and behavioral health services; improving care coordination across hospitals, clinics, emergency medical services, pharmacies, and community providers; strengthening trauma readiness and emergency response; supporting clinically integrated networks and shared data infrastructure; and modernizing rural health systems through telehealth and technology. The federal initiative also supports expanding practice authority for licensed healthcare professionals and optimizing the rural healthcare workforce.
The funding represents a significant long-term commitment to rural Arkansas. About $209 million will be distributed in 2026, with $1 billion anticipated over the next five years. DFA Secretary Jim Hudson said the funding, combined with Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ approach to rural healthcare, will benefit generations of Arkansans. In May, the governor announced the first funding round of $55.6 million for the Telehealth, Health-Monitoring, and Response Innovation for Vital Expansion initiative, which expands telehealth access and improves emergency medical response systems.
Additional program priorities include RISE AR, which strengthens the rural healthcare workforce through expanded physician residencies and recruitment incentives for healthcare professionals in rural areas; and HEART, which focuses on improving health outcomes through coordinated community approaches to nutrition, physical activity, and chronic disease management. Eligible applicants include rural hospitals, health systems with rural operations, faith-based organizations, clinics, federally qualified health centers, emergency medical services providers, pharmacists, universities, nonprofits, and community partners. Hudson emphasized that expanded access to care through mobile units and improved technology will help reach patients where they live, while supporting the foundation for generational change throughout rural areas.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.ky3.com/2026/05/04/arkansas-begins-rollout-federal-funding-modernize-rural-healthcare-systems/