The Rural Hospital Provider Assistance Program provides direct financial assistance to eligible small rural hospitals.
How do hospitals use funds?
Funding helps hospitals maintain physicians, nurses, and other health care providers while supporting continued access to essential hospital services in rural communities.
How can my hospital qualify?
To qualify for RHPA funds, your hospital must:
- Have no more than 50 acute care inpatient beds1
- Have an established wage index value of less than 0.902
- Be located in a rural area as defined by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy.3
How many hospitals does RHPA fund?
In 2026, HRSA funded 132 eligible hospitals across 13 states.
Contact us:
Krista M. Mastel, M.P.H.
RHPA Program Coordinator
Email: RuralHospitals@hrsa.gov
Phone: 301-443-0491
1 As determined by the number of acute care inpatient beds reported in the Medicare cost report provided in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Healthcare Cost Report Information System Quarterly Update for FY 2025 as of December 31, 2025. Acute care inpatient beds are derived from the Medicare cost report, Worksheet S-3, Part I, Line 14, column 2, which represents staffed beds and excludes beds paid under separate psychiatric or rehabilitation payment systems.
2 As determined by the Secretary of HHS under section 1886(d)(3)(E) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(d)(3)(E)). Wage index values are published in Table 2, as finalized in the FY 2026 Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System final rule (or correction notice, if applicable), which reflect the full application of all relevant policies and adjustments to determine whether a hospital had an established wage index value of less than 0.90. The wage index values incorporate all applicable policies and adjustments, including reclassifications, wage index floors, caps, and other statutory or regulatory requirements.
3 The Rural Health Grants Analyzer identifies all counties and census tracts that are considered a HRSA-designated rural area.