BISMARCK, N.D. (KUMV) - North Dakota lawmakers will hold a special session sometime next year to allocate federal dollars for rural health. This week, they met to discuss the federal funding application.

The state is set to receive at least $500 million over the next five years, starting in 2026, thanks to the Big Beautiful Bill.

This week, a legislative committee met to discuss the application and how to strengthen it to earn more dollars.

Lawmakers say the biggest focus for those dollars would be on workforce development and improving telehealth services.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing. It’s historic and never been done. One hundred million plus each year. We really have to be concerned about implementation and really have to have great awareness,” said Pat Traynor, interim commiss

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