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01/15/2026
CMS Begins Rollout of $50B Rural Health Fund - OhioSEE Expands
Governor DeWine Announces Ohio’s Rural Health Transformation Program Award
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced that Ohio will receive more than $200 million from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Rural Health Transformation Program to strengthen health care across Ohio's rural communities.
According to the Ohio Department of Health's (ODH) Ohio Chronic Disease Atlas 2025, Ohioans living in rural parts of the state experience higher rates of chronic disease, lower access to specialty care, and worse health outcomes. Frequently, Ohioans living in rural communities live far from care, making preventative and early intervention services difficult to access.
Ohio's Rural Health Transformation Program proposal focuses on addressing these barriers by building on existing state investments to expand access to care in rural communities, strengthen the rural health workforce, modernize rural facilities and technology, and support innovative models that bring high-quality, dependable care closer to home.
With this funding, Ohio will invest in more school-based health centers in rural communities, expand the OhioSEE child vision care program to more students in rural school districts, and build upon Ohio's success in reducing infant mortality rates by expanding evidence-based home visiting models to more rural communities across the state.
Additionally, Ohio will launch Rural Patient Health Innovation Hubs to provide those living in rural areas with access to the best-in-class, integrated care in their communities by partnering with hospitals, community health centers, behavioral health specialists, and others to bring high-quality health care options closer to home.
ODH is the lead agency for Ohio's program and will continue to work with federal partners as more information and guidance become available.
iSee Ohio (the Ohio Optometric Foundation) and the Ohio Optometric Association are proud partners of the OhioSEE program, connecting local doctors of optometry to schools in underserved areas across Ohio to host mobile vision clinics directly inside the school. OOA members continue to support and provide vision services to rural communities and Ohio’s Medicaid population.
Governor DeWine Announces Ohio's Rural Health Transformation Program Award | Governor Mike DeWine
