Columbia News

Congressional Republicans and President Trump have allocated significant funding to support rural health care in Missouri and throughout the United States. The new tax cuts for working families law established a $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) designed to improve access to quality health care services in rural communities. Through this program, states are able to apply for funding aimed at strengthening care delivery systems and supporting the recruitment and retention of rural clinical workers.

In a letter addressed to Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe, Missouri Department of Social Services Director Jessica Bax, and Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Director Sarah Willson, Congressman Mark Alford (MO-04), Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08), along with other members of the Missouri congressional delegation, highlighted ongoing challenges faced by rural communities in accessing health care. They emphasized the importance of including specific policies in Missouri's application for RHTP resources.

The letter states: "For the 20 percent of Americans – 60 million in total – that live in rural communities, insufficient access to health care is a daily crisis and contributes to worse health outcomes. These patients are often forced to drive an hour or more for basic medical services and face critical barriers when trying to receive specialized services such as oncology or maternity and obstetric care. The inability to directly and efficiently access care is devastating to rural communities across the country. It is unsurprising that rural patient cancer mortality is 13 percent higher than that of urban patients; that rural maternal mortality is twice as high as urban maternal mortality; and that rural mortality overall is 43 percent higher than urban mortality across natural causes. Access challenges are worsened when rural communities lose these critical service lines, or worse, their entire hospital facilities. Missouri has had 12 rural hospitals close in the past decade, reducing access to care for thousands of Missourians. Nationwide, nearly 200 rural hospitals have closed in that timeframe, while more than 100 rural hospitals have stopped providing maternity services in just the last five years. Nearly 400 rural hospitals have stopped providing chemotherapy services since 2014. We are committed to identifying the root causes of rural America’s health care access problem and engaging in meaningful solutions, such as the RHTP, to improve health care for the 60 million American families that need it most."

Mark Alford has represented Missouri’s 4th District in Congress since replacing Vicky Hartzler in 2023. He was born in Baytown, Texas in 1963 and currently resides in Lake Winnebago. Alford graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BA degree in 1988.

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