Skip to Primary Navigation

Approval deadline for CMS $50 billion rural health fund fast approaching

Photo of 3 hospital workers in protective clothing with patient on gurney in a hospital corridor.
Photo: Lisa Maree Williams/Stringer/Getty Images

The extent to which the federal grant program will support the nation’s 1,800 struggling rural hospitals remains unclear.

With a December 31 deadline fast approaching, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is getting ready to choose which states will be awarded grants from its new $50 billion rural health fund.

While the cash infusion could benefit rural communities in a number of ways, the extent to which it