The Rural Health Transformation Program
The Rural Health Transformation (RHT) Program is a provision in Public Law 119-21 (formerly known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”), that will allocate $50 billion to approved states for rural health initiatives over the next five fiscal years. The goal of the RHT is to improve health care access, quality, and outcomes in rural communities throughout the United States. All 50 states are eligible for funding to address the following strategic goals:
Alabama Uses RHT Program Funds for Cancer Prevention and Detection
Alabama received over $200 million through the RHT program and, with H.B. 614, appropriated $8,136,173 for the Cancer Digital Regionalization Initiative. This program aims to increase access to care via local referral hubs and mobile cancer screening units, and to foster partnerships to improve education and community engagement.
The Cancer Digital Regionalization Initiative builds on the success of “Operation Wipe Out,” which aims to eliminate cervical cancer in Alabama through preventive education and improved access to vaccination, screening, and treatment.
Other States Are Also Using RHT Funds to Fight Cancer
Throughout the country, multiple states are using RHT funding to address rural cancer disparities. In Iowa, patients are connected to dermatology specialists to improve early detection of skin cancers. And in Oklahoma, comprehensive lung cancer screening programs are expanding in rural areas and tobacco users can find cessation support through RHT-funded programs.
Access: Why It Matters
Rural and frontier areas typically have smaller populations spread out over larger areas than densely populated urban areas. Though most of the land mass in the U.S. is categorized as rural, only 14-20 percent of the country’s population lives in these areas.
Barriers to accessing health services in rural areas include lack of transportation, insufficient insurance coverage, and limited availability of health care facilities. And limited access at key stages across the cancer care continuum is a primary driver of poor cancer outcomes, including higher rates of morbidity and mortality.
AACI is addressing barriers to access through Understanding Access to Cancer Care, an initiative led by AACI President Joann B. Sweasy, PhD, and through the Equitable Access to Clinical Trials (EACT) initiative, jointly hosted by AACI and the Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard. AACI is also a supporter of the bipartisan Clinical Trial Modernization Act (S. 4440), which would enable clinical trial sponsors to cover costs associated with trial participation, including copays, travel, food, and lodging; and provide patients with technology to allow them to participate remotely in clinical trials.