Georgia Receives $221.7 Million Award for Year Two of Rural Health Transformation

The federal award for Year 2 funds surpasses Year 1’s $218.8 million to advance innovative care, healthier rural communities, sustainable access, a highly skilled rural healthcare workforce, and technology innovation

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has awarded Georgia $221.7 million for the second year of the Georgia Rural Enhancement and Transformation of Health (GREAT Health) Program. The Year 2 award represents an increase from Georgia’s Year 1 award and brings the state’s total Rural Health Transformation Program funding to more than $440.5 million.

The Year 2 increased investment recognizes Georgia’s progress during the first year of implementation and will allow the state to expand successful work already underway, strengthen partnerships, and extend the reach of efforts to improve healthcare access, rural healthcare systems, workforce capacity, and innovative, technology-enabled models of care.

“This program has already helped drive significant progress in improving healthcare across rural parts of our state in its first year,” said Georgia Governor Brian Kemp. “We look forward to its continued transformative impacts in the days ahead!”

“Year 1 established a strong foundation for transforming rural healthcare across Georgia, and this increased investment will help us build on that success,” said Stuart Portman, executive director, Medical Assistance Plans Division at the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH). “In Year 1, we moved swiftly to get 100 percent of GREAT Health funds fully committed to organizations who aligned with the transformative mission of the RHTP and were equipped to do the work in Georgia’s rural communities, while thoroughly complying with CMS requirements. DCH plans to do the same in Year 2, and this additional funding will allow us to continue our efforts so that rural Georgians have access to high-quality, sustainable healthcare services close to home.”

In the coming weeks, the state will share additional information regarding implementation timelines and next steps for the GREAT Health initiative.

Year 2 GREAT Health investments will continue to support projects across the same five initiatives established in Year 1, which will remain in place throughout the five-year program:

• Transforming for a Sustainable Health System in Rural Georgia (Initiative 1): Prepares rural hospitals and clinics to succeed in a multi-payer value-based care model aligned with CMS’s Achieving Healthcare Efficiency through Accountable Design (AHEAD) Model, improving outcomes and financial stability.
• Strengthening the Continuum of Care in Rural Georgia (Initiative 2): Expands behavioral health, public health, and emergency response systems to address root causes of disease and improve coordination across care settings.
• Connecting to Care to Improve Healthcare Access in Rural Georgia (Initiative 3): Increases access through telehealth, mobile services, and new care delivery models that bring care closer to rural communities.
• Growing a Highly Skilled Healthcare Workforce in Rural Georgia (Initiative 4): Builds and sustains a pipeline of healthcare professionals through training, incentives, and rural placement programs.
• Leveraging Technology for Healthcare Innovations in Rural Georgia (Initiative 5): Enhances care delivery through Electronic Medical Record systems, cybersecurity, and digital tools that enable data-driven population health management.

On December 10, DCH will host a webinar to provide updates on GREAT Health Year 1 accomplishments, Year 2 priorities, and future funding and engagement opportunities. Sign up for the GREAT Health Program Updates Distribution List to receive the webinar registration link, future program announcements, funding opportunities, and other GREAT Health updates.