Capitol News

Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt has called on the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to use funds from the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), made available through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, to support rural hospitals in Michigan.

In a letter addressed to MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel, Nesbitt emphasized the importance of rural hospitals for small communities. “Rural hospitals are vital to the health and economic well-being of small communities across our state, yet they continue to be burdened by overregulation, workforce shortages, rising costs, outdated infrastructure and ineffective government reimbursement,” said Nesbitt. “We cannot afford to leave this transformative funding on the table because of petty things like personal politics over names on bills. The people of Michigan deserve leaders to work on their behalf for the prosperity of our state.”

Nesbitt outlined several priorities for using RHTP funds. These include recruiting and retaining health professionals in areas such as behavioral health, maternal care, and primary care; improving reimbursement systems so that payments better reflect the real costs faced by rural hospitals; and investing in modern technology such as telehealth services and remote patient monitoring.

He further stated: “A community without a hospital creates areas of our state that are not set up to thrive; it loses both access to care and its ability to attract families, businesses and future investment. I stand ready to assist the Department of Health and Human Services in completing their application to maximize Michigan’s share of rural health funding,” Nesbitt wrote.