The Rural Health Transformation Program represents a major federal investment in rural healthcare: $50 billion over five years, with $10 billion allocated annually from 2026 through 2030. The program gives states an opportunity to improve access, strengthen the healthcare workforce and modernize care delivery in rural communities.
In a September 2026 article, Managed Healthcare Executive examines both the opportunity and the challenges facing the program. Rural healthcare organizations are under immediate financial and workforce pressures even as they’re asked to build sustainable models for the future. Preserving essential local services must remain part of that conversation.
The article also got me thinking about what we could accomplish by bringing more of healthcare’s capabilities together around the people who need them.
Investing in long-term healthcare innovation is an aspiration we should all share. Focusing that effort on rural communities makes a great deal of sense to me.
After more than 20 years working across health plans, PBMs, pharmacy, e-prescribing, claims technology and healthcare technology, I tend to look at healthcare through the connections among organizations. I think about where information stops, where a handoff breaks down and where a patient is left trying to figure out what happens next.
That’s where I see a meaningful opportunity for rural health.
Start with the person navigating care
Imagine someone leaving an appointment with a new diagnosis, a treatment plan, several prescriptions and a referral.
Do they understand what the diagnosis means? Do they know why each medication was prescribed? Can they get those medications locally and afford them? Do they know whom to call if something is confusing or a referral doesn’t go through?
I’d like to see more investment in making the entire experience easier to navigate.
That could include someone who helps explain next steps, a pharmacist who identifies medication access or affordability barriers, or a coordinated process that gets a patient’s questions to the right member of the care team.
Sometimes a meaningful improvement starts with having someone there to connect the dots.
Bring providers, pharmacies and health systems together
There’s an opportunity to strengthen the connections among rural providers, pharmacies, hospitals, health plans and technology partners.
For example, we could explore ways to:
Help patients understand their treatment plans and follow-up instructions.
Identify prescription coverage, availability and cost concerns earlier.
Connect patients with appropriate medication savings and assistance programs.
Improve communication as patients move between a hospital, a physician’s office and a pharmacy.
Give local care teams useful information without adding administrative work.
These are practical places to focus innovation because they affect both the patient experience and the work of the organizations serving patients.
Rural pharmacies should have a meaningful place in these conversations, along with the local clinicians and hospital teams who understand their communities. Their input should help shape what gets built and how it works.
Focus existing technology on a shared goal
Many of the capabilities needed to support this work already exist across healthcare. The opportunity is to identify which solutions fit a particular community, bring the right partners together and make those capabilities work as part of a coordinated approach.
I’d start by asking local teams where patients most often get stuck. Then I’d look at which people, partnerships and technologies could help close those gaps.
Technology investments work best when patients can use them, staff can support them and organizations have a realistic plan to sustain them after the initial funding ends.
Progress should be measured in ways people can recognize: patients who understand their next steps, prescriptions they can obtain and afford, completed follow-up appointments, and less time spent by care teams chasing missing information.
Build something that lasts
What excites me about this opportunity is the possibility of bringing healthcare’s expertise, relationships and technology together around a clear purpose.
Through Zimmer Advisor, I bring a perspective shaped by work across the healthcare ecosystem: identifying connections and helping organizations turn opportunities into action.
Rural communities deserve investment that strengthens the people and organizations already caring for them while making room for better ways to deliver care.
I’d welcome conversations with rural providers, pharmacies, hospital leaders and technology organizations thinking about this work. Where do you see the greatest opportunity to help patients understand their care, access their medications and get the support they need?
The Rural Health Transformation Program represents a major federal investment in rural healthcare: $50 billion over five years, with $10 billion allocated annually from 2026 through 2030. The program gives states an opportunity to improve access, strengthen the healthcare workforce and modernize care delivery in rural communities.
In a September 2026 article, Managed Healthcare Executive examines both the opportunity and the challenges facing the program. Rural healthcare organizations are under immediate financial and workforce pressures even as they’re asked to build sustainable models for the future. Preserving essential local services must remain part of that conversation.
The article also got me thinking about what we could accomplish by bringing more of healthcare’s capabilities together around the people who need them.
Investing in long-term healthcare innovation is an aspiration we should all share. Focusing that effort on rural communities makes a great deal of sense to me.
After more than 20 years working across health plans, PBMs, pharmacy, e-prescribing, claims technology and healthcare technology, I tend to look at healthcare through the connections among organizations. I think about where information stops, where a handoff breaks down and where a patient is left trying to figure out what happens next.
That’s where I see a meaningful opportunity for rural health.
Start with the person navigating care
Imagine someone leaving an appointment with a new diagnosis, a treatment plan, several prescriptions and a referral.
Do they understand what the diagnosis means? Do they know why each medication was prescribed? Can they get those medications locally and afford them? Do they know whom to call if something is confusing or a referral doesn’t go through?
I’d like to see more investment in making the entire experience easier to navigate.
That could include someone who helps explain next steps, a pharmacist who identifies medication access or affordability barriers, or a coordinated process that gets a patient’s questions to the right member of the care team.
Sometimes a meaningful improvement starts with having someone there to connect the dots.
Bring providers, pharmacies and health systems together
There’s an opportunity to strengthen the connections among rural providers, pharmacies, hospitals, health plans and technology partners.
For example, we could explore ways to:
Help patients understand their treatment plans and follow-up instructions.
Identify prescription coverage, availability and cost concerns earlier.
Connect patients with appropriate medication savings and assistance programs.
Improve communication as patients move between a hospital, a physician’s office and a pharmacy.
Give local care teams useful information without adding administrative work.
These are practical places to focus innovation because they affect both the patient experience and the work of the organizations serving patients.
Rural pharmacies should have a meaningful place in these conversations, along with the local clinicians and hospital teams who understand their communities. Their input should help shape what gets built and how it works.
Focus existing technology on a shared goal
Many of the capabilities needed to support this work already exist across healthcare. The opportunity is to identify which solutions fit a particular community, bring the right partners together and make those capabilities work as part of a coordinated approach.
I’d start by asking local teams where patients most often get stuck. Then I’d look at which people, partnerships and technologies could help close those gaps.
Technology investments work best when patients can use them, staff can support them and organizations have a realistic plan to sustain them after the initial funding ends.
Progress should be measured in ways people can recognize: patients who understand their next steps, prescriptions they can obtain and afford, completed follow-up appointments, and less time spent by care teams chasing missing information.
Build something that lasts
What excites me about this opportunity is the possibility of bringing healthcare’s expertise, relationships and technology together around a clear purpose.
Through Zimmer Advisor, I bring a perspective shaped by work across the healthcare ecosystem: identifying connections and helping organizations turn opportunities into action.
Rural communities deserve investment that strengthens the people and organizations already caring for them while making room for better ways to deliver care.
I’d welcome conversations with rural providers, pharmacies, hospital leaders and technology organizations thinking about this work. Where do you see the greatest opportunity to help patients understand their care, access their medications and get the support they need?
