ALBANY, NY — On December 30, the New York State Department of Health announced new funding to support New York's comprehensive statewide plan to improve health care access and delivery in rural New York communities.

New York will receive a first-year award from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of more than $212 million in 2026 under the federal Rural Health Transformation Program to implement the state's transformative strategy to support the health and well-being of New Yorkers.

"All New Yorkers deserve the right to have access to critical health care services, regardless of where they live," State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said."The State Department of Health remains committed to strengthening rural health care through innovative and strategic investments that will build a resilient and sustainable foundation of health care that will benefit New Yorkers for generations to come."

The Department will now work with CMS to finalize the details of the cooperative agreement. Once finalized, New York will then provide additional details to interested stakeholders around the allocation of resources and funding opportunities.

To ensure the funding directly benefits rural residents across the state, New York will implement a funding distribution process that prioritizes the identified needs of rural populations. Program implementation will be supported by ongoing stakeholder engagement, including feedback from providers, tribal and faith-based organizations, local leaders and community members to target resources where they will have the greatest impact.

New York's Rural Health Transformation Plan includes four key initiatives developed with the input of nearly 170 stakeholder organizations and community providers. These key initiatives and their goals include the following:

• Establish coordinated rural health partnerships: These partnerships between rural hospitals and health care organizations will enhance patient access to a wide range of providers across the care continuum to address both health and social needs.
• Strengthen rural communities with technology-enhanced primary care: Improve rural patient access to and utilization of high-quality primary care through the Patient Centered Medical Home model with the incorporation of artificial intelligence where appropriate.
• Build a sustainable rural health care workforce: Create a self-sustaining cycle of workforce development and pipeline that addresses both immediate staffing needs and long-term capacity-building, ensuring New York's rural communities have continuous access to high quality health care services tailored to their regional circumstances.
• Investments in technology innovation and cybersecurity enhancements: Expand access to care through telehealth, improving patient outcomes through eConsult partnerships, increasing usable alerts in rural counties and strengthening cybersecurity of rural facilities.