ARLINGTON, Va. — The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the first round of funding awards for the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), a landmark initiative to strengthen rural healthcare nationwide. The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) welcomed the news and urged states to put pharmacies at the center of their efforts to bring affordable care closer to home.
Bill Schiffner
The RHTP, created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, allocates $50 billion over five years for rural health, with every state receiving a share to improve access, bolster the rural health workforce, modernize facilities and technology, and bring high-quality care closer to rural communities. As states start to put these funds to work in the new year, NACDS President and CEO Steven Anderson said pharmacies — the closest and among the most trusted healthcare destinations for rural Americans — must be at the core of that work.
“Thanks to this unprecedented investment from the federal government, we have a real opportunity to fix what’s broken in rural healthcare — and pharmacies and pharmacists must be fully integrated into the solution,” said Anderson. “The data tell a compelling story: 90% of Americans live within five miles of a pharmacy — and recent national polling shows Americans deeply value and trust their pharmacies as a frontline source of care. In many rural areas, pharmacies are the only healthcare option for miles, uniquely positioning them to turn RHTP investments into real, on-the-ground care by expanding preventive and chronic services and closing gaps in behavioral health.”
Since the RHTP was first announced in July, NACDS has worked to educate state and federal leaders on how to engage pharmacies to close healthcare gaps and improve outcomes nationwide. NACDS highlighted that pharmacists can deliver high-value care but are constrained by reimbursement and scope-of-practice barriers. Aligning reimbursement and enabling pharmacists to practice at the top of their training would expand access, improve outcomes, and lower costs, particularly in rural areas.
Consistent with these efforts, 65% of the state funding proposals reviewed by NACDS to date include direct references to pharmacies and/or pharmacists, underscoring the growing recognition of pharmacies’ role in advancing rural health.
As states begin to operationalize their RHTP commitments, NACDS will continue pressing for pharmacy-centered solutions that help states deliver on the promise of better rural health. “Every day, pharmacists see the real struggles rural families face — long drives, closed clinics, and care that’s just out of reach,” Anderson said. “With this funding, we can change that. States now have the power to break down old barriers and let pharmacists step up. If we want to close the care gap in rural America, we need to put pharmacies at the center of the solution.”
The first RHTP funding awards are set to be distributed in early 2026.
