Idaho committee begins process of awarding $186 million in rural health funding
Published at
Clark Corbin, Idaho Capital Sun
BOISE (Idaho Capital Sun) — A committee of Republican Idaho legislators that is overseeing a $930 million, five-year federal grant intended to improve rural health care held its first meeting Wednesday at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise.
Members of the new Rural Health Transformation Committee will provide governance and recommendations to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare as the department works to award the entirety of this year’s $186 million portion of the grant by an Oct. 30 deadline. All 10 legislators serving on the committee are Republicans. There are no Democrats on the committee.
“This is really to transform and bring innovation to health care in our rural communities really quickly,” Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Director Juliet Charron told committee members Wednesday.
Wednesday’s meeting was all about getting the committee up and running and going over the timelines and requirements for awarding the funding.
Between now and June, department officials will prepare requests for proposals and begin soliciting competitive subgrants to award the funding.
“We have a lot of work to do in this first year,” Charron said. “I think hopefully (it will be) smooth sailing in years two through five. But in this first year, we’re kind of on a shortened timeline from when we received our award.”
State officials found out in late December that Idaho would receive funding through the grant.
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Money for the Rural Health Transformation Program comes from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that President Donald Trump signed into law last summer. The law provides $50 billion to transform rural health care delivery in every state.
Idaho received almost $186 million in funding for the first year and expects to receive a total of about $929 million combined over the five-year program. However, Charron said the amount of funding awarded to states in future years could go up or down based on how states comply with timelines and grant requirements.
Charron told state legislators that Idaho has developed five initiatives related to the Rural Health Transformation Program:
- Improving rural access to care through technology
- Ensuring accessible, quality care through innovative models
- Sustaining the rural workforce with training, recruitment and retention
- Implementing population specific, evidence-based projects to “Make America Healthy Again”
- Investing in rural health infrastructure and partnerships
The Idaho Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee created the new Rural Health Transformation Committee via Senate Bill 1453, which the Idaho House of Representatives passed on the final day of the 2026 legislative session.
Committee members did not take any formal action Wednesday, but were briefed on the program and will receive monthly updates.
The committee tentatively plans to meet next on May 28.
“This will be a rewarding committee to be on,” said Sen. Julie VanOrden, a Republican from Pingree who serves as the committee’s co-chair. “We have a lot of work to do very quickly.”
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