NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Rural Tennessee is not waiting on Washington excuses. On Thursday, Rapid Response 47 posted CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz laying out President Donald J. Trump’s Rural Health Transformation Program — the same historic investment already sending more than $206 million into the Volunteer State.
“The Rural Health Transformation Fund, this is an administration initiative. The president wanted it. Congress voted for it. And this program is going to put $50 billion into rural health care,” Oz said. “In that $50 billion… it’s designed to bring care closer to rural parts of America all over the nation.” He added that the $50 billion is “50% more money into these areas than they ever received in health care, the most ambitious program to try to deal with a big issue.” Rapid Response 47 noted every single Democrat opposed the Working Families Tax Cuts that created the program.
Tennessee’s share is already at work. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services awarded the state $206,888,882.11 through the federal RHTP grant program — part of the nationwide five-year, $50 billion commitment. On Sept. 3, 2026, the Tennessee Department of Health announced the first wave of Healthy Active Rural Tennessee awards: 53 innovative projects spanning 44 counties, including economically distressed counties such as Scott, Cocke, Clay, Hancock, and Lauderdale.
“Strong rural communities are essential to Tennessee’s continued success, and access to quality healthcare is a cornerstone of that strength,” Gov. Bill Lee said when those grants landed. Oz, in that same TN announcement, said the Trump Administration’s program is “helping states like Tennessee develop innovative, locally driven solutions to improve rural Americans’ access to high-quality care” and “bring better care closer to home.” That is Golden Age federalism: America First dollars, Tennessee solutions, care close to home. Watch Rapid Response 47’s video.
