The Maine Department of Health and Human Services announced it will distribute $30 million through the Rural Health Transformation Program, and has identified eleven rural hospitals that could participate. The funds will go toward improving the “long-term financial health and sustainability” of rural hospitals, according to a July 31 news release from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. The $30 million is part of the $190 million Maine is receiving in the first year of Rural Health Transformation Program funding. The $50 billion in funding nationwide through the rural health program will partially offset losses to rural hospitals caused by Medicaid cutbacks that were approved in the 2025 federal budget bill. Sara Gagné-Holmes, Maine DHHS commissioner, said in a statement that the funding will “strengthen operations and preserve access to care” at rural hospitals.