MDHHS outlines plan to spend $173 million federal rural health award; lawmakers press on scoring, distribution and oversight

Michigan received $173 million from the federal Rural Health Transformation Program and the state Department of Health and Human Services is moving to match its proposal and distribute funds to rural communities across a range of initiatives, the department told a House appropriations subcommittee.

Beth Nagle, senior deputy director for policy, planning and operations support at MDHHS, presented the department’s plan on the program and the adjusted budget on behalf of the agency. She said the federal program, created in H.R. 1 and administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, funds transformational projects over five years. "Michigan received a $173,000,000 award," Nagle said, and MDHHS revised its submitted budget to align with the award without cutting proposed activities.

Nagle described four broad areas the state proposed to fund: transforming rural health through partnerships (chronic disease prevention and collaborative care), workforce development (pipelines, rural residency and recruitment/retention support), interoperability and technology (EHR upgrades, telehealth, data integration) and care closer to home…