Governor Ivey Announces First Grants in Major New Rural Healthcare Program Totaling More than $144 Million
MONTGOMERY – Governor Kay Ivey on Monday announced the awarding of 138 grants worth a total of more than $144 million to healthcare providers and institutions throughout the state as part of the Alabama Rural Health Transformation Program (ARHTP). The funds awarded today will support projects covering rural areas in each Alabama county to improve healthcare access, quality and outcomes.
"Alabama is serious about creating systematic changes through the ARHTP to ensure every citizen has access to quality care. This program is enabling institutions covering every part of the state to improve healthcare for Alabamians through projects that are both innovative and sustainable," said Governor Ivey. "From the federal policymakers and state administrators to our professional healthcare leaders, I commend all the thoughtful work dedicated to ensuring the success of this program."
The ARHTP plan was developed by a team that included members from the Governor's Office, the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA), the Alabama Department of Finance, the Alabama Medicaid Agency and the Alabama State Health Planning and Development Agency.
ADECA administers the ARHTP, which includes 11 initiatives. During this initial round of grant funding, five of those initiatives are being funded, including Rural Health, Rural Workforce, Mental Health, Rural Health Practice and Collaborative Electronic Health Record (EHR), IT and Cybersecurity. Grant awards for additional initiatives are in process and will be announced at a later date. These projects are supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $203,404,326.54 with 100 percent funding by CMS/HHS. The contents are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CMS/HHS, or the U.S. Government.
"The Trump Administration's Rural Health Transformation Program is based on one simple idea: your access to quality health care shouldn't depend on your ZIP code," said Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. "Funding new approaches to expand access to both primary and specialty care is a critical step toward achieving that vision for Alabamians, and I look forward to seeing RHTP investments drive equally transformative innovations for rural communities nationwide."
"To say that there is great interest in improving rural healthcare in Alabama is an understatement. This announcement comes at the end of a process that included six packed-house informational meetings in different locations throughout the state, five grant application workshops and hundreds of grant applications," said ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell. "I appreciate the confidence that Gov. Ivey and the Legislature have in ADECA's ability to administer this important program, and we are excited to now see so many projects moving forward."
The federal program behind the grants
The Rural Health Transformation Program is a $50 billion federal initiative created by Congress in 2025. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is distributing $10 billion a year to approved states from 2026 through 2030, with half of the money split equally among the states. All 50 states received awards, and Alabama’s first-year award of about $203.4 million was announced by CMS in December 2025.
Among the first-round grants, the University of South Alabama received $1.51 million to establish a regional health care technology and interoperability network serving 10 rural hospitals across 17 south Alabama counties, including Clarke, Escambia, Monroe and Washington, according to the governor’s office.
