New Mexico Invests Over $357 Million in Rural and Tribal Health Care Through Two Major Funding Streams

Rural and tribal health providers across New Mexico now have access to historic state and federal funding to strengthen care for Our Relatives in Indian Country.

Two Separate Programs Are Driving the Largest Rural Health Investment in State History

New Mexico is channeling more than $357 million into rural health care through two distinct programs administered by the New Mexico Health Care Authority (HCA). The first is the state-funded Rural Health Care Delivery Fund (RHCDF), a three-year, $146 million investment established in 2023 and replenished during the October 2025 special legislative session, which has already recruited more than 800 health care workers and served over 125,000 New Mexicans. The second is the federally funded Rural Health Transformation Program, a $211.5 million grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced in December 2025 to expand services, stabilize critical access facilities, and advance community-based care models across all 33 counties.

Tribal Health Programs and Native Practitioners Are Already Seeing Results

Under the state-funded RHCDF, Gallup Community Health in McKinley County hired seven primary care providers, three behavioral health practitioners, and additional community health workers who have delivered more than 35,000 visits. Current tribal and pueblo awardees include the Cañoncito Band of Navajos Health Center in To’Hajiilee, Picuris Medical Center, Jicarilla Apache Nation, Santo Domingo Pueblo, and First Nations Community HealthSource — each delivering culturally competent care to Native populations and Indigenous elders across multiple counties!

How Rural and Tribal Providers Can Apply for the $50 Million RHCDF Stabilization Grant

The RHCDF is now accepting applications for its latest $50 million stabilization cycle, open to tribally operated health care facilities, Indian Health Service contract sites, and Medicaid-enrolled providers in designated Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs). Applications close April 19, 2026, with awards beginning August 1. HCA hosted technical assistance webinars on March 17 and March 20, with recordings available online, and questions can be directed to hca.rhcdf@hca.nm.gov.

As a Native owned small business and ISBEE-certified medical staffing company, Ellsworth supports rural and tribal health systems with culturally competent professionals who understand Indian Country. If your facility needs qualified health care workers to meet RHCDF or Rural Health Transformation Program goals, contact Ellsworth today.