FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 6, 2025
Boise, Idaho – Governor Brad Little announced today the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (DHW) submitted the state’s application for The Rural Health Transformation Program Tuesday, adding Idaho to the list of states seeking up to $200 million annually for five years to radically transform healthcare in rural areas.
The Governor’s Executive Order 2025-08, the “Making Rural Idaho Healthy Again Act,” jumpstarted a collaborative task force with members of the executive branch, the legislative branch, tribes, and stakeholders that worked together to identify specific needs that will be addressed with the new funding made available through the One Big Beautiful Bill.
The State of Idaho is applying for $200 million per year for five years, for a total of $1 billion.
“Idaho is a mostly rural state, and we are grateful for the significant investments President Trump and Congress have committed to improving healthcare access, quality, and outcomes in rural Idaho and across the country. We are proud of the effective, collaborative approach we utilized in preparing Idaho’s application for funding through this transformative new program,” Governor Little said.
“We commend the approach taken to integrate stakeholder perspectives in advancing healthcare for rural Idaho. This application marks meaningful progress toward improved patient outcomes, expanded access, and higher quality care. The resulting funding will play a critical role in strengthening healthcare infrastructure and services across rural Idaho,” Senator Julie VanOrden, Senator Scott Grow, Representative Wendy Horman, and Representative John Vander Woude said.
ABOUT THE FUNDING AND APPLICATION
The Rural Health Transformation program was authorized by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Section 71401 of Public Law 119-21) and empowers all states to strengthen rural communities by improving healthcare access, quality, and outcomes.
Through innovative system-wide change, the program invests in the rural healthcare delivery ecosystem.
The state’s application is built around five initiatives identified based on feedback from the public, the five federally recognized tribes in Idaho, Idaho legislators, and others. The initiatives are:
- Initiative 1: Improving rural access to care through technology.
- Initiative 2: Ensuring accessible, quality care through innovative models.
- Initiative 3: Sustaining rural workforce with training, recruitment, and retention.
- Initiative 4: Implementing population-specific, evidence-based projects to make rural America healthy again.
- Initiative 5: Investing in rural health infrastructure and partnerships.
Idaho expects to learn how much it will receive by Dec. 31, 2025.
After working with the Idaho Legislature to obtain spending authority, DHW will post competitive solicitations for the proposed activities for each initiative.
These will result in subawards to providers, educational institutions, technology vendors, tribes, and others, which will be managed through DHW and Department of Administration with support from time-limited contractors as needed.
Learn more about the program and see Idaho’s application at https://healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/providers/rural-health-transformation-program-grant/about-rural-health-transformation-program-grant.
