Washington is officially seeking $1 billion in federal funding to strengthen rural health care under the new $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program. The money—created in July’s “big, beautiful bill”—is meant to offset steep Medicaid cuts that could cost rural Washington more than $4 billion over the next decade. More than a million Washingtonians live in rural counties, where chronic disease rates are higher and many hospitals are already strained.

The state’s five-year plan includes more than $300 million for hospital infrastructure, technology upgrades, and preserving maternal and obstetrics care. It also expands community-based services, boosts rural workforce training, enhances behavioral health and addiction treatment, and reserves 10% of any funding for tribes and Indian He

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