This week the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that Wisconsin will receive $203.7 millionto support rural healthcare in 2026. These funds were authorized under the Rural Health Transformation Fundwhich was created through legislation I helped pass into law last year, the Working Families Tax Cuts. Wisconsin qualified for $14 million more than originally requested by the State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS).
The Rural Health Transformation Fund provides an additional $50 billion annually to support access to care:
50% of the funding is distributed equally among each state
50% of funding is awarded based on conditions including percentage of rural population, availability of healthcare in rural areas, and the condition of healthcare facilities
This funding is important because roughly one in three Wisconsin families live in rural areas, including families in Southeast and Southcentral Wisconsin.
I want to hear from you:
In the past year have you ever delayed or skipped medical care due to issues accessing services, long appointment wait times, or difficulty locating a medical provider?
The state of Wisconsin plans to use these federal funds to:
Strengthen the rural healthcare workforce
It can often be difficult to hire and retain healthcare providers in rural areas. This can make access to timely care for rural residents difficult. Funding under this provision will focus on grants for workforce innovation and supporting career pathways for rural healthcare providers.
Drive rural technology and innovation in healthcare
Technology like telehealth and electronic referrals can increase access to care and improve patient outcomes. Under DHS's proposal, funding will invest in upgrades for rural provider systems and create a digital rural healthcare collaborative.
Transform rural care through coordinated care partnerships
Families in rural areas often face difficulty navigating care across multiple providers. This is because rural healthcare providers often lack the same communication networks as those in cities and suburbs. DHS will use federal funding to create a grant program that targets care collaboration and partnership across providers to improve patient outcomes.
The Governor acknowledged the importance of this federal funding and said that this will "help Wisconsinites in rural areas and communities get the care they need and closer to home.” To read more about WI DHS's plan for this federal funding, click here.
These investments will help strengthen our healthcare system, increase access to care, and improve patient outcomes. You can read more about this funding here.
Restoring Trust in Government
There has been a lot of news out of Washington recently. I am working to provide you transparency into what is going on in Congress, my work to make life more affordable for you, and restoring trust in government.
I joined Tim Bremel on WCLO this week to discuss making life more affordable for American families, restoring good governance, and more. You can listen below or at the link here.
There have been allegations of members of Congress trading individual stocks and making significant profits or conducting insider trading. These trades could potentially occur in industries that members oversee.
I believe that members of Congress should not be able to purchase individual stocks or profit off insider information. I joined CNBC to discuss this issue and next steps. You can watch our interview below or at the link here.
As always, feel free to contact my office if you have any questions, want to share an opinion, or are having trouble with a federal agency.an ever be of assistance.
.png "Untitled_design_(64).png")
