The grant was part of a $50 billion package awarded to all 50 states. New Hampshire’s was the largest grant received among all New England states. The federal money will go towards a planned five-year program run by the newly created Governor’s Office of New Opportunities & Rural Transformational Health (GO-NORTH).
“This is the beginning of a bold effort to expand access to affordable, high-quality care closer to home for Granite Staters in rural communities,” Gov. Kelly Ayotte said in a statement.
Ayotte said multiple groups from across the state, including hospitals and rural health care providers, provided input into how the state can improve disease management, behavioral health, and prenatal care in rural communities.
Goals for the program include expanding rural primary care; improving chronic disease management; establishing new EMS units in rural areas to help mitigate gaps in care; and providing more care via telehealth for pregnancy and postpartum care.
The program will also aim to build technological innovation and workforce development.
The money comes after years of consolidation and closures among New Hampshire’s rural hospitals and health care providers. Several rural hospitals have shut labor and delivery units over the past two decades, leading to long travel times for patients in those regions.
Rural providers will see initial investments from the grant beginning in 2026.
The federal grants were included in President Trump's tax legislation earlier this year, as a way to compensate for deep cuts in Medicaid and other federal health spending included in that bill. But analysts estimate the total drop in federal Medicaid spending in rural areas to far outstrip the amount set aside in the grants announced this week.
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