On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed a landmark budget reconciliation bill into law—one that dramatically reshapes the nation’s health care landscape. The legislation includes major tax cuts and sweeping reductions in federal health care spending, most notably slashing Medicaid funding by $911 billion over the next decade. According to the Congressional Budget Office, this could result in 10 million more Americans being uninsured by 2034.

To address bipartisan concerns over the impact on rural hospitals facing financial strain, the Senate added the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), a federal grant program to help states to improve and transform rural health care. The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) will administer grants to states over 5 years beginning in 2026.

The webinar will provide a detailed overview of RHTP (what it is and what it isn’t), the funding fundamentals of the grant program, and CMS’ description of how funds can be used. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and offer feedback on rural health care priorities.

Late last week, California’s largest health care union filed paperwork with the Office of the Attorney General to add a ballot measure to next year’s election that would cap compensation packages for hospital and medical group leaders at $450,000. 

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