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By John Klar, Contributor, The MAHA Report
For the past four months, MAHA Action, of which The MAHA Report is a part, has been supporting governors across the country with rural health initiatives designed to secure federal subsidies under President Trump’s Rural Health Transformation Program [ [link removed] ] (RHTP).
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The program, authorized by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, aims to transform rural healthcare in America by improving quality, access, and healthcare delivery ecosystems.
November 5 was the last day for states to apply for federal funding, which is budgeted to provide $50 billion over five years, marking the largest federal investment in rural healthcare reform in United States history.
America’s healthcare costs have soared for decades, exceeding annual domestic economic growth almost every year. This has been caused in part by the chronic disease epidemic, as explained by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but also by a growing medical bureaucracy. Top-heavy administrative expenses have devoured real wealth while decreasing support for medical providers and patient care.
The MAHA movement advocates for improving food quality, education, and lifestyle choices, such as exercise, to prevent chronic illnesses and facilitate quicker patient recovery. Rather than squander taxpayer dollars on cures, MAHA seeks to avert suffering from diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and other common ailments.
Studies show it is rural Americans who suffer the highest rates of these and other preventable illnesses. President Trump’s RHTP targets rural areas with better preventive care as a capital infusion to support demonstrated long-term improvements in health outcomes.
Democrats have shut down the federal government in an effort to blackmail Congress [ [link removed] ] into more funds for the oxymoronically named Affordable Healthcare Act. More money has not translated into better health outcomes for Americans.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator of the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, has called the RHTP “a catalytic investment to spark real, measurable change in how we treat, feed, and support rural America.” HHS Secretary Kennedy likewise has said, “This program is about delivering dignity and dependable care to rural communities.” MAHA Action’s Strategic Health Initiative has worked to ensure the program efficiently achieves these laudable aspirations.
The RHTP rewards states that deliver measurable results in access to care, workforce retention, population health, cost reduction, and quality improvement.
MAHA Action crafted twelve possible pilot programs that met these criteria; they chose four deemed most promising. These programs were developed into detailed proposals to present to states for consideration, along with in-person and remote meetings to support states – blue or red – to maximize their opportunity to secure federal RHTP funding.
Led by Leigh Merinoff and Deirdre Goldfarb, the MAHA Action Strategic Health Initiative team contacted governors’ offices around the country by phone, email, and in-person. The goal was to provide information on the four MAHA- and RHTP-aligned pilot programs that aim to shift healthcare focus from perpetual symptom management to common-sense prevention. Former Delaware Governor Bethany Hall-Long played a substantial role helping Merinoff and team.
In this week’s MAHA Media Hub [ [link removed] ] (beginning at 58 minutes on this link), Merinoff explained the work that MAHA Action’s Strategic Health Initiatives team has undertaken to improve rural health. “RHTP gives us a way to really implement root-cause, results-driven solutions,” she said. “It’s designed to reverse disease rather than simply treat disease. This is really about prevention, and making people healthier.”
Merinoff outlined the RHTP funding structure. Half of the $50 billion allocated to states is disbursed at their discretion; the other half is tied to the application and approval process undertaken by the Strategic Health Initiatives Committee. As Merinoff explained:
“It’s the other half that we’re really talking about, because this is going to be awarded to states depending on their requests and the quality of their implementation. States only had six weeks to apply. CMS only has six weeks to approve. By January 1, 2026, these initiatives are going to be approved for funding. At that time, the states are going to open an RFP [Request For Proposals] process for applications for grants.”
Continued Merinoff:
“Our MAHA Action committee will be there with our pilots, and we’re really recommending that everyone get to understand what this is, so that you can also be there. We have a committee, and that is called the Strategic Health Initiative. We have created a series of pilots. We are active in 23 states, and we reached out to 40 of them.”
Merinoff recounted the four main pilot programs for which the MAHA Action Strategic Health Initiatives Committee has advocated:
– a diabetes reversal diet
– in-home dialysis treatment
– an AI-derived SNAP coupon app that leverages beneficiaries’ buying power and reduces food waste while increasing profitability for grocery stores
– a rural hospital improvement program that supplies healthy, whole foods to patients
Merinoff explained that other policy proposals are available to states, and that MAHA Action’s Strategic Health Initiatives Committee continues to seek opportunities to collaborate with states and others. For example, a MAHA Action pilot proposal for a K-12 home economics curriculum was very attractive to many states. MAHA Action may pursue this at the next stage of RHTP implementation.
“We’ve gone around the country and what we found out is that this is really an historic moment in time because never before have rural communities been given money like this,” reflected Merinoff during the MAHA Media hub zoom. “Never have they had this opportunity to flip how they approach healthcare for their citizens.”
Continued Merinoff:
“We’re going to be working on prevention, not treating illness, and the goal would be that rural communities won’t need as much [health]care. We hope everybody will take the time to learn about this initiative, call their state reps, and thank them for getting engaged as this funding is really for the health of the states.
“We will be keeping you all informed with more to-dos as we know more. Right now, most states will post this publicly and you can see what your state has chosen. You can call them and ask them to support our MAHA initiatives, or other initiatives that you also might have.”
The November 5 filing deadline for the RHTP marks an exciting milestone not just for states seeking to support the health of their rural citizens who are often left behind, but also for the MAHA movement and its growing grassroots energy.
Propelled by creative efforts such as the Strategic Health Initiative, the MAHA movement is just getting started.
Key Takeaways:
– President Donald Trump’s Rural Health Transformation Program seeks to nurture rural Americans and their hospitals, SNAP beneficiaries, and vulnerable communities by providing health foods, education, and preventive interventions to reduce illness and healthcare costs simultaneously.
– MAHA Action’s Strategic Health Initiatives Committee has played a pivotal supporting role in helping both liberal and conservative states craft successful pilot programs to ensure full federal funding of the RHTP program for their citizens.
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