Texas applies for $1 billion in federal funding for rural health initiatives

Texas is asking for $1 billion in federal funding to address rural health care needs .

The state’s application for the Rural Health Transformation program requests $200 million each year of the five-year program. The “Rural Texas Strong” project is built on several initiatives ranging from addressing provider shortages and implementing artificial intelligence processes into rural health care.

Claire Stieg, with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, said the state submitted its application ahead of the midnight deadline Tuesday, but what the program looks like in practice depends on decisions that are now in the hands of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services .

“They could come back and ask for adjustments to those initiatives, and the budget obviously will chan