How Georgia Secured the Program

On July 4, 2025, Congress passed H.R. 1, commonly referred to as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. This bill created an opportunity for the state of Georgia to apply for funds under a new Rural Health Transformation Program. States were eligible to apply for $10 billion per year, for five years. $5 billion per year will be evenly distributed to all states that apply and $5 billion will be distributed based on a methodology determined by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. All 50 states applied and were awarded funds. 

The Department of Community Health (DCH) is proud to take the lead for the State of Georgia for application and distribution of these funds. From August 11- 29, 2025, DCH accepted public input on ideas for the application through town halls and an online application form. All submissions were reviewed and directly informed the final application submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).  

DCH received formal application guidance from CMS on September 15, 2025. The state’s application was submitted on November 4, 2025, and final award amounts to states were released on December 29, 2025. At that point, all states had to resubmit final numbers to CMS for approval before proceeding with granting. On February 10, 2026, DCH received notice from CMS that funds were released and that granting activities could proceed. 

For more information on on states and their awards, see the press release, "CMS Announces $50 Billion in Awards to Strengthen Rural Health in All 50 States," on cms.gov.

View Georgia's application to the Rural Health Transformation program.