NM Health Care Authority announces $76M in federal rural healthcare funds

The New Mexico Health Care Authority on Wednesday announced it would soon distribute about one-third of the federal funding it recently received through the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” to address shortfalls in rural healthcare in the state. 

The authority will provide $76.2 million to six “regional hub organizations” that help communities implement rural healthcare projects as part of its Health Horizons program. 

When fully implemented, the program aims to reduce long wait times, chronic disease risk factors and readmission rates to rural hospitals — all problems that plague roughly one-third of New Mexicans who live in rural areas. 

The funding recipients won’t provide care directly, according to the Health Care Authority, but instead will try to increase virtual consultations, especially for specialty and maternal care, as well as expand the use of rotational clinics in areas lacking healthcare access..

New Mexico and all other states applied for and received funding from the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” last November as part of the federal Rural Health Transformation Fund. The state received a little more than $211 million, which is the 13th highest amount in the country. 

The state’s application noted that 26 of New Mexico’s 33 counties are rural, and their residents tend to have higher rates of heart disease, diabetes and chronic respiratory disease than their urban counterparts, while often being forced to travel between 50 and 100 miles for basic healthcare services. 

Eight of 27 rural New Mexico hospitals risk closing, according to a 2025 analysis the application cited, with four facing “immediate risk [of closure] absent intervention.” Four other federally qualified health centers have closed in recent years, as well.

The Healthy Horizons is one of five initiatives for which the state received federal funding. Others aim to increase the number of community health programs; train more healthcare workers; reduce financial strain on hospitals; and establish a rural health data-sharing platform.

Despite the new wave of federal funding totaling $50 billion over the next five years, independent estimates show the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” will cut rural Medicaid spending overall by $137 billion over the next decade, including $3.54 billion in New Mexico.

Elisa Wrede, the HCA’s acting rural health director, was not available for an interview with Source NM this week, according to a spokesperson, though she said in a statement Wednesday that the Health Care Authority is “investing in regional partners who can bring providers, Tribal health programs, community organizations, public health leaders, and others together to improve access to care in practical ways.”  

Applications for the funding, which will be distributed to each regional hub based on healthcare need and readiness, are due by July 2, according to the authority. Recipients must use at least 90% of the funding to support local healthcare projects.