LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kentucky has received nearly $213 million to help transform and strengthen rural health care programs across the state, according to Dr. Steven Stack, secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.
What You Need To Know
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Kentucky has secured nearly $213 million to improve rural health care statewide
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The Cabinet for Health and Family Services will use the funds to expand multiple initiatives
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Key priorities include maternal health, mental health, oral health, chronic conditions and emergency medicine
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The grant covers five budget periods, running through fiscal year 2030
The funding was approved by Congress and distributed through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, ranking Kentucky as the recipient of the 11th-highest award amount in the nation.
The cabinet plans to use the funding to strengthen several initiatives, including maternal health services. Stack said Kentucky currently has 40 counties classified as maternal health deserts.
“We’re hoping to find ways to identify everyone who is pregnant quickly and get them robust prenatal care to increase the risk of a healthy baby,” Stack said. “Then after the babies are delivered, to make sure the mother and the child are supported with mental health and medical health and things like that.”
Additional focus areas include improving oral health, addressing chronic conditions and enhancing emergency medicine services.
Stack said telehealth could play a key role, allowing doctors to assess patients remotely with the support of emergency medical services.
“Where perhaps an EMT can go to a home, evaluate someone and maybe not have to get them transferred from the house or maybe not transfer them to an emergency department,” Stack said.
While the funding offers a boost to health care services, Stack noted that potential federal cuts could create future challenges.
“If it weren’t for all the other challenges with the reductions that are going to happen for Medicaid, potentially, challenges with changing SNAP … if it weren’t for all those other headwinds, this really is a good opportunity to try to think creatively and transform things,” he said.
Stack also emphasized that the grant money can be used only for approved purposes.
“If we do not perform to the metrics that we have identified and proposed, they have said very clearly they may claw back money from us even if we’ve already spent it,” he said.
The grant spans five budget periods and will remain in effect through fiscal year 2030.
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