The Trump administration announced $51 million to support 68 rural hospital districts in Texas working to prevent and manage diabetes, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and obesity, on Sept. 29.
The investment targets rural Texas communities that frequently lack adequate specialty care and preventive health infrastructure. Sixty-eight hospital districts represents broad geographic distribution across one of the nation’s largest and most rural states, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The chronic diseases targeted by the funding, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, respiratory illness, and obesity, are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. Rural populations experience these conditions at disproportionately high rates compared to urban residents, in part because of limited access to preventive care and specialist physicians.
Texas has the second-largest population of any U.S. state and a significant rural population spread across vast geographic distances. Many rural Texas counties lack even a single primary care physician, and hospital closures in rural areas have further reduced access to care in recent decades.
For rural Texans, the federal investment promises improved local access to preventive health services and chronic disease management programs. Nutrition counseling, diabetes prevention, and cardiovascular screening are among the types of services typically funded through CMS rural health grants.
The funding is administered through CMS grant programs targeting rural and underserved health care delivery systems. Rural hospital districts serve as the primary health care safety net for many Texas communities, providing emergency services, primary care, and chronic disease management.
CMS did not provide a complete list of the 68 grantees or a detailed breakdown of funding by program area in its announcement.