*This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated. 1992.09.30 : Medicare Rural Hospital Grants Contact: Bob Hardy (202) 690-6145 September 30, 1992 Federal grants totaling more than $22 million have been awarded to 517 small rural hospitals to upgrade facilities and train professional staffs, as part of an ongoing effort to provide high-quality care to Medicare beneficiaries, HHS Secretary Louis W. Sullivan, M.D., announced today. New grants for fiscal years 1992-93, totaling $6.8 million, will go to hospitals in 45 states, while $15.3 million will go for second- and third-year grants to a number of 1990 and 1991 recipients. The grants, which were made under the Rural Health Care Transition Grants Program, are administered by the Health Care Financing Administration, the HHS agency that oversees the Medicare program. "My department has a continuing commitment to improving rural health care," Secretary Sullivan said. "These grants will help provide better and more accessible health care to the millions of Medicare beneficiaries who rely on rural facilities for their care." Hospitals can use the grants to support various kinds of innovative capital projects. That includes expanded outpatient and emergency services, and the conversion of inpatient facilities to alternative services. Funds are also available to train health- care professionals and to encourage physicians to practice in rural areas. - More - - 2 - Among other goals supported by the grants program are improved management and long-term planning, and better patient transportation and outreach services. "These grants help many rural hospitals to adjust to changes in patterns of health-care needs and rapid shifts in population," said William Toby Jr., acting HCFA administrator. The four-year-old grants program awards up to $50,000 annually for as many as three years to non-profit, acute-care rural hospitals with fewer than 100 beds. The program distributed more than $8 million in its first year, $17 million in the second year and about $23.2 million in the third year. The program was developed in consultation with the HHS Office of Rural Health Policy, the American Hospital Association and the National Association of Counties. A state-by-state list of the grant awards is attached. # # # EDITOR'S NOTE: Through the Medicare and Medicaid programs, HCFA helps pay the medical bills of some 60 million Americans, at an estimated 1992 expenditure of $204 billion, the 12th largest governmental budget of any kind in the world. RURAL HEALTH CARE TRANSITION GRANT APPLICANTS AND AWARDS FOR FISCAL YEAR 1992 Award amount Alabama $ 350,000 Alaska 150,000 Arizona 493,200 Arkansas 349,016 California 445,738 Colorado 418,394 Florida 200,000 Georgia 348,200 Hawaii 0 Idaho 485,913 Illinois 586,672 Indiana 100,000 Iowa 1,433,283 Kansas 988,065 Kentucky 400,000 Louisiana 400,000 Maine 400,000 Maryland 96,680 Massachusetts 0 Michigan 550,163 Minnesota 1,548,605 Mississippi 450,000 Missouri 764,002 Montana 814,838 Nebraska 947,043 Nevada 389,202 New Hampshire 195,300 New Mexico 295,014 New York 292,728 North Carolina 400,000 North Dakota 976,101 Ohio 296,357 Oklahoma 900,000 Oregon 399,995 Pennsylvania 150,000 South Carolina 150,000 South Dakota 795,669 Tennessee 445,007 Texas 1,659,503 Utah 199,839 Vermont 100,000 Virginia 104,587 Washington 393,625 West Virginia 299,548 Wisconsin 749,065 Wyoming 226,968 Puerto Rico 50,000 TOTAL $22,188,320