A Transformative Investment in Rural Health Care
By Sen. John Thune
Having grown up in Murdo, I know firsthand both the joys and the challenges of life in rural South Dakota. Everything from package delivery to internet reliability can be more difficult far outside a major city, and whether it’s fixing rural roads, expanding broadband, or ensuring access to critical services like health care, rural communities are a priority for me.
Last year, as part of the Working Families Tax Cuts, Republicans created the Rural Health Transformation Program, which invests $50 billion in America’s rural health care. This multi-year initiative promises to put rural health care providers on a more sustainable footing for the future, and after its first year, we’re seeing its impact in South Dakota and around the country.
South Dakota received $189.4 million in the first year of this program and that money is already going toward important initiatives in our state. This fall, the Trump administration announced $7.2 million to strengthen emergency medical services and a $13 million investment in behavioral and mental health in South Dakota. These come after another announcement in August for funding to modernize technology and strengthen cybersecurity among rural health care providers in our state.
When we created this program, Republicans didn’t take a top-down, Washington-centered approach. Instead, we chose to give states the resources and freedom to find solutions to their unique challenges. I’m proud to see South Dakota taking the same approach when it comes to distributing the funding our state is receiving from the program, including gathering input from South Dakotans in rural communities.
The Rural Health Transformation Program promises to live up to its name and be truly transformational for health care in America’s small towns and farm country. It’s already getting to work here in South Dakota to get our rural providers on a firmer footing so more South Dakotans can access quality health care closer to home.
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