Montana โขSeeks Federal Funds to Revamp Rural Healthcare System
HELENA, Mont. – Montana has submittedโ aโค plan to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) seeking a shareโ of โค$1 billion in funding thru the Rural Health โฃConversion Program, state officials announced Wednesday. The initiative aims to address critical challenges facing rural healthcare delivery across theโฃ state, focusing on workforceโ growth, access to care, innovative models, community health, and technology upgrades.
The state’s submission โoutlines five core initiatives designed for enduring โขenhancement.These include bolstering recruitment and โฃtraining for rural healthcare providers in partnership withโ the Montana Departmentโข of Labor and Industry, stabilizing rural facility โfinances โขthrough partnerships and telehealth expansion, โคand strengthening value-based payment โขmodels.
A key component ofโ the plan focuses on leveraging Emergency Medical โฃServices (EMS) to reduce costly emergency room visits. Officials hope to โคexpand โขreimbursementโ options for EMS โproviders, โฃallowing them to provide moreโข on-site careโค and โpossibly avoid unnecessary hospital โขtransports.
“The goalโ of this initiative is toโ expand the reimbursement that theyโ can get,” said rebecca de Camara, with the Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS). “Preventing unnecessary emergency department visits wouldโค save money.”
Concerns have been raised about โpatients intentionally refusing transport to avoid billing โcosts, a practice that leaves EMS providersโ coveringโ staffing and product expenses. While โขde Camara statedโ she โฃdoesn’t noโฃ if this is widespread, she acknowledged the current system’s structure creates a need for increased on-site treatment options.
The funding allocation formulaโ prioritizes states based onโ need: 50% will be divided equally โฃamong approved states, โค25% based on โขrurality,โฃ and 25% based on โalignment with CMS criteria. DPHHS believes Montana’s application is competitive โand is preparing for implementation should theโ state receive funding.
“We’ll continueโข ourโ planningโข so that we are ready to go once the moneyโ starts rolling into the state,”โฃ de Camara said.
The plan also includes infrastructure upgrades and initiatives promoting healthyโ lifestyles, expanding primary, behavioral, and dental health services in schools, โขand modernizing Electronic Health Record systems โฃfor rural providers.
Montana’s fullโฃ application is available โat โฃ https://dphhs.mt.gov/assets/ruralhealthtransformation/RHTP-Plan.pdf,and further facts about the program can โbe found at https://dphhs.mt.gov/RuralHealthTransformationProgramRFI.
