Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03) led 27 Members of Congress in sending a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. raising concerns about the implementation of the Trump administration’s new $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program, established under Section 71401 of the recently signed budget reconciliation bill. While the administration promotes the program’s $50 billion rural health fund as a fix to the harmful cuts implemented under HR1, it falls short in addressing the harm caused by the same law’s $1 trillion in health care cuts, including deep, permanent Medicaid reductions and could fail rural communities if it’s not fairly distributed. 

The letter was signed by Reps. Gabe Vasquez, Melanie Stansbury, Raul Ruiz, Jan Schakowsky, Robin Kelly, Paul Tonko, Jared Huffman, Bennie Thompson, Jill Tokuda, Mike Thompson, Andrea Salinas, Eugene Vindman, Hank Johnson, Jim Costa, Sharice Davids, Nikki Budzinski, Becca Balint, Brittany Pettersen, Steven Horsford, John Garamendi, Cleo Fields, Terri Sewell, Josh Riley, Steve Cohen, Greg Stanton, and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick.

In the letter, the Members urge CMS to:

• Establish an immediate application deadline for states;

• Outline transparent criteria and metrics for proposal evaluation and approval;

• Prioritize funding for rural communities most harmed by the broader health care cuts.

“The law gives CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz sweeping authority to approve or deny state applications and distribute funds with little to no public or congressional oversight,” the letter states. “This lack of oversight increases the chances of waste, fraud, and abuse in a program that is intended to protect the most vulnerable rural health care systems.”

Health care stakeholders echoed those concerns.

"The potential funding available through the Rural Health Transformation Program, upwards of $500 million over the next five years, is critically important to our state's rural hospitals, and the communities they serve, as they look ahead to the changes in Medicaid funding. Rep. Leger Fernández’s requests for clarification from CMS are greatly appreciated and we hope her letter receives a timely response," said Troy Clark, President/CEO of the New Mexico Hospital Association.

"We are appreciative of the intent to make critical investments into rural communities, yet are concerned about proper implementation of this fund based on the lack of released details from CMS," said Sarah Hohman, Director of Government Affairs at the National Association of Rural Health Clinics. "We thank Representative Leger Fernández and her colleagues on this letter for their leadership on this issue, helping to ensure that this investment in rural health is truly an investment in rural health." 

The Members request a formal response from Secretary Kennedy by August 15, 2025. 

The full letter can be seen here.