{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cramer.senate.gov/news/press-releases/north-dakota-awarded-nearly-200-million-for-rural-health-transformation-plan", "North Dakota Awarded Nearly $200 Million for Rural Health Transformation Plan", "2025-12-29", "2025", "2025-12", "Republican", "Senate", "ND", "Kevin Cramer", "C001096", "www.cramer.senate.gov", "cramer", "https://www.cramer.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "BISMARCK, N.D. \u2013 When Congress passed the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, it established the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) to strengthen rural health care by providing states funding to support innovation, expand access, and enhance quality of care.\n\nThe U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) announced the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services will receive $199 million in initial funding for its RHTP. North Dakota\u2019s approved application includes a five-year plan to strengthen and stabilize its rural workforce, bring high quality health care closer to home, and confront immediate threats to rural health while building lasting sustainability.\n\n\u201cRural hospitals are essential to the health and economic stability of their communities,\u201d said U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND). \u201cThe creation of this fund reflects a clear commitment by the Trump administration to prioritize rural healthcare and protect access to care where it is needed most. I look forward to this money getting to North Dakota and providing the support it was designed to deliver.\u201d\n\n\u201cNorth Dakota is taking bold steps to restore health, opportunity, and dignity to our prairies,\u201d the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services said in its application. \u201cNorth Dakota\u2019s RHTP delivers practical investments that honor local and tribal values, protect rural independence, and get America back to what matters: healthy people, prosperous communities, and common-sense service delivery.\u201d\n\nThe unprecedented funding provides key opportunities for North Dakota\u2019s rural health care systems:\n\nStrengthens and Stabilizes Rural Health Workforce:\n\nThe funding allows rural hospitals in North Dakota to expand rural healthcare training programs, improve retention in rural and Tribal communities, and use technology as an extender for rural providers.\n\nMakes North Dakota Healthy Again:\n\nNorth Dakota\u2019s RHTP initiatives support the launch of Eat Well ND to enhance nutrition education for North Dakotans, initiates ND Moves Together to provide education on the benefits of physical activity across the state and promotes connection and resilience to improve mental health with a focus on children.\n\nBrings High-Quality Health Care Closer to Home:\n\nThe state\u2019s five-year plan right-sizes rural healthcare delivery systems, enhances the telehealth and mobile clinic infrastructure; and expands community health worker and paramedic infrastructure, training, and certification. It ensures rural residents have access to transportation and develops care coordination programs with payers in the state for patients with chronic disease or behavioral health conditions.\n\nConnects Tech, Data, and Providers for a Stronger North Dakota:\n\nNorth Dakota\u2019s application outlines key initiatives to gain efficiency with modern tech and data, including cooperative purchasing agreements for technology, regulatory and financial infrastructure, use of staff, and bulk purchasing of supplies and equipment.\n\nIt also summarizes plans to harness artificial intelligence to detect early signs of chronic disease and behavioral health conditions, expand the capacity of rural providers, and utilize new technology for rapid transport, automated prescription pickup kiosks, and laboratory capability to process self-collected specimens.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cramer.senate.gov/news/press-releases/north-dakota-awarded-nearly-200-million-for-rural-health-transformation-plan"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.701000913977623, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}