Expanding access, lowering costs, and growing Delaware’s
Health Care workforce
The State of Delaware’s Rural Health Transformation Program will dramatically expand health care access, lower costs, and increase grow our state’s medical workforce. With a $157 million federal award for the first year alone, this program has the potential to revolutionize medical care in every community.
Our objective — to improve health outcomes for all Delawareans, regardless of income or zip code.
“A generational plan focused on expanding access to care and supporting rural communities from the ground up.”
– Governor Matt Meyer
All Delawareans deserve access to quality health care, no matter where they live.
Delaware’s Rural Health Transformation Program includes 15 projects, programs and initiatives that will:
Projects, Programs, and Initiatives
Expanding Access to Care
| Health Hubs |
|---|
| Funds will be competitively awarded to support mobile units and/or other non-traditional access points. Year 1 Budget: $5,483,730.00 |
| School-Based Health Centers |
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| Funds will be competitively awarded to support operation of new school-based health centers. Year 1 Budget: $195,000.00 |
| Libraries |
|---|
| Funds will be competitively awarded to rural libraries for support services for patients engaging in telehealth. Year 1 Budget: $1,835,000.00 |
Affordable Care to Manage Chronic Diseases
| Hope Centers |
|---|
| Funds will support establishment and operation of two new Hope Centers to address health needs of rural homeless population. Year 1 Budget: $26,370,000.00 |
| Food Is Medicine infrastructure |
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| Funds will be competitively awarded to a vendor to support sustainable Food Is Medicine initiatives. Year 1 Budget: $1,648,000.00 |
| Continuous glucose monitoring |
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| Funds will be competitively awarded to a vendor to pilot a continuous glucose monitoring program. Year 1 Budget: $950,000.00 |
| Telehealth and remote patient monitoring |
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| Funds will be competitively awarded to vendors deploying innovative telehealth and remote patient monitoring tools. Year 1 Budget: $5,000,000.00 |
Growing Delaware’s Health Care Workforce
| Create Delaware’s first 4-year medical school |
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| Funds will be competitively awarded to support start-up costs for a medical school branch campus. Year 1 Budget: $42,500,000.00 |
| Support non-physician clinicians |
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| Tuition awards for non-physician health care workers who commit to serve in rural Delaware. Year 1 Budget: $1,000,000.00 |
| Support medical residents |
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| Awards will go to medical residents that commit to 5 years practice in rural Delaware. Year 1 Budget: $1,236,495.00 |
| Support medical students |
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| Tuition awards will go to medical students who commit to 5 years practice in rural Delaware. Year 1 Budget: $1,100,000.00 |
| Expand training programs |
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| Funds will be awarded to support training programs for non-physician health care workers. Year 1 Budget: $20,910,000.00 |
| Workforce data |
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| Funds will support a vendor-managed technology product that supports implementation of SB122 and related workforce data needs. Year 1 Budget: $2,685,200.00 |
Prepare the Health Care System for the Future
| Value-based care transformation |
|---|
| Funds will support rural health care providers and FQHCs to move towards value-based care, including preparing to take on upside and downside risk and be held accountable for total cost of care and population health outcomes. Year 1 Budget: $24,322,042.48 |
| Real-Time insurance verification and prior authorization |
|---|
| Funds will support vendor operation of a novel statewide, cloud-based prior authorization and health data exchange network. Year 1 Budget: $6,420,000.00 |
What is the status of Delaware’s Rural Health Transformation Program?
| Date | Update |
|---|---|
| December 2025 | Delaware secures more than $157.4 million in federal funding to support the Rural Health Transformation in the first year. |
| November 2025 | The State of Delaware submits an application for up to $1 billion from the Rural Health Transformation Program. |
| August 2025 | Delaware Governor Matt Meyer asks First State residents for their input on how best to reshape the health care landscape in rural Delaware through a major federal funding program. |
Where can I learn more about Rural Health Transformation Program?
Please direct all inquiries to dhssinfo@delaware.gov.
About Delaware’s Rural Health Transformation Plan
These projects will be supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $157.4 million with 100 percent funded by CMS/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CMS/HHS, or the U.S. Government.
Rural Health Related documents
- Project Narrative
- Delaware Rural Health Transformation Program Executive Budget Summary
- Notice of Award Letter
What is Delaware’s rural health landscape?
Delaware’s rural health landscape reflects the pressures of a small but rapidly transforming state with stark disparities between its northern urban areas and southern rural counties. Roughly 38-40% of Delaware residents – about 400,000 people – live in these rural areas, facing healthcare challenges that far exceed their geographic footprint. Sussex County embodies Delaware’s rural health crisis.
