Maine will receive $190,358,993.11 in the second year of the federal Rural Health Transformation Program, about $350,000 more than its first-year award, Gov. Janet Mills's office said Nov. 11.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced $10 billion in second-year awards to all 50 states on Nov. 9. CMS lists Maine's award at $190,358,993. Awards in the same table for the other New England states are New Hampshire $204,312,551, Vermont $189,996,036, Massachusetts $158,392,692, Rhode Island $158,171,967 and Connecticut $153,652,078. CMS says each state receives at least $100 million a year in equal baseline funding and that all funds must be spent by Sept. 30, 2032 or returned to the U.S. Treasury.
In its announcement, the governor's office said Maine put all of its first-year funding to work on health care workforce training, electronic medical record modernization and rural hospital efficiency. For year two, the state plans to spend on expanding community-based services and starting regional planning earlier than first scheduled.
The release lists these year-two plans:
Adding school-based health centers in rural communities, supporting new mobile health units where needed and continuing to integrate primary care into behavioral health clinics.
Continuing rural recruitment and retention of health care workers and expanding career exploration and training for students and current workers.
Investing in telehealth and in electronic medical records, including in county jails ready to provide MaineCare-covered services before release.
Improving transportation coordination and helping residents navigate health coverage, plus a proposal to help Tribal communities offer traditional healing services through MaineCare.
Bringing local partners together for regional planning to identify essential services and guide future investments, and continuing work on hospital efficiency and payment models that support coordinated care.
Maine Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Sara Gagne-Holmes said in the release that starting regional planning earlier "will give local partners more time to identify the services their communities need most and plan for how to sustain it beyond the grant." The release describes the tribal healing item and the jail records investment as proposed additions.
The release does not give a dollar breakdown by priority. It says the program is supported by CMS financial assistance awards totaling $380,367,044.20 across years one and two, all funded by CMS and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The program was created in H.R. 1, signed July 4, 2025, according to the release.
