By Nolan Mckendry | The Center Square
(The Center Square) — Louisiana awarded funding to 195 of 529 applicants seeking a share of roughly $208 million in federal rural health money, leaving nearly two-thirds without an award as requests outpaced available funding.
Some of the applicants may have applied for more than one funding opportunity.
The Louisiana Department of Health said it committed its entire first-year allocation through the Rural Health Transformation Program. Requests totaled more than $498 million, more than twice the amount available.
The awards span five initiatives: workforce development, technology innovation, innovative care models, preventive health and sustainable access to rural health care facilities.
The department also received an additional 212 applications for the Rural Health Catalyst Fund.
The federal Rural Health Transformation Program, established through federal legislation in 2025, provides $50 billion nationally over five budget periods. Louisiana received approximately $208.4 million for its first year.
Although rural hospitals are a central focus, federal rules require the money to support broader changes in health care delivery and limit how much states can spend on certain facility improvements and provider payments.
Louisiana dedicated the maximum allowed for equipment purchases and smaller renovations: 20% of its award, or about $41.6 million. The department previously reported receiving 160 applications for that funding.
“We know that we got a lot more requests than that in the 160 applications that we received,” Julie Foster Hagan, executive director of Louisiana’s Office of Rural Health Transformation and Sustainability, told the program’s advisory council earlier this year.
Other funding opportunities drew applications for telehealth upgrades, arrangements to bring specialists into rural communities, alternative payment models, patient navigation and nutrition programs.
LDH Secretary Bruce Greenstein said the state committed every available dollar under federal guidelines to strengthening rural communities.
State Rep. Dustin Miller, chairman of the House Health and Welfare Committee, said the volume of requests underscored the demand for assistance.
“The nearly $500 million in requests tells us just how great the need is across rural Louisiana,” Miller said.
The department previously said unsuccessful applicants would be notified and given an explanation. Reasons could include ineligibility, insufficient information to score an application or a ranking below competing proposals.