Jason Smith: Strengthening health care access for Missouri's rural communities

(From Eighth District Congressman Jason Smith)

Access to health care remains one of the most serious challenges facing families in rural Missouri. For too many communities across southeast and south-central Missouri, getting the care you need can mean long drives, limited options, or waiting far too long to see a provider. Too many Missouri families have experienced the painful reality of a hospital in their community closing. That reality is not acceptable, and it is why I made strengthening rural health care a top priority when we wrote the One, Big, Beautiful Bill.

That work is now paying off. When I helped draft the One, Big, Beautiful Bill earlier this year, a key focus for us was trying to improve health care for rural Americans. Thanks to the Rural Health Transformation Program we included, Missouri has been awarded more than $216 million to expand access to health care in rural communities across our state. 

This funding represents a major step forward for families who have been underserved for far too long. I have been in constant contact with both Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz since the bill’s passage to ensure Missouri is prioritized, and I am grateful that the Trump Administration recognized how urgent this need is the working families, farmers and small businesses we represent.

Across Missouri’s Eighth District, access to care is a daily concern. Over the past decade, twelve hospitals have closed in Missouri, leaving entire communities with fewer options for emergency care, primary care, and specialty services. That strain falls hardest on working families, seniors, and young parents who depend on nearby care when it matters most.

Rural communities also face higher rates of chronic disease, cancer, and maternal health complications than their urban counterparts. These disparities are not the result of a lack of effort by families or providers, but of a system that has failed to invest where the need is greatest. The Rural Health Transformation Program is designed to change that by expanding access to care, strengthening the rural health workforce, and encouraging new models that bring services closer to home.

This funding will help support better training and retention for health professionals who serve rural areas, expand telehealth and care coordination, and invest in innovative approaches to tackling chronic disease. Just as important, it gives states the flexibility to design solutions that reflect the unique needs of rural communities instead of forcing a one-size-fits-all approach from Washington.

I will continue working closely with Governor Mike Kehoe and our state leaders to make sure these desperately needed resources are used wisely. This is not about short-term fixes or temporary programs. It is about building sustainable systems that keep hospitals open, attract providers, and give families confidence that care will be there when they need it. Families in rural Missouri deserves the same quality of health care access as anywhere else in the country.

There is still more work to be done, but this funding is an important step in the right direction. I will continue fighting to ensure rural Missouri is never treated as an afterthought and that our health care system works for the families it is meant to serve. Strengthening access to care strengthens our communities, and that is a responsibility I take seriously every day.