The Maine Department of Health and Human Services announced it will distribute $30 million through the Rural Health Transformation Program, and has identified eleven rural hospitals that could participate.

The funds will go toward improving the “long-term financial health and sustainability” of rural hospitals, according to a July 31 news release from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.

The hospitals invited to participate include Cary Medical Center in Caribou, MaineHealth Franklin Hospital in Farmington, Houlton Regional Hospital, MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta, Millinocket Regional Hospital, Mount Desert Island Hospital in Bar Harbor, Northern Light AR Gould Hospital in Presque Isle, Northern Light CA Dean Hospital in Greenville, Northern Maine Medical Center in Fort Kent, MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital in Rockport and Penobscot Valley Hospital in Lincoln, according to DHHS.

The $30 million is part of the $190 million Maine is receiving in the first year of Rural Health Transformation Program funding. The $50 billion in funding nationwide through the rural health program will partially offset losses to rural hospitals caused by Medicaid cutbacks that were approved in the 2025 federal budget bill.

The type of projects that will be funded in Maine haven’t yet been identified, but the money would go toward initiatives that “focus on improving financial oversight and management, increasing structural and operational efficiency, or strengthening regional planning to ensure efficient delivery of service,” according to the DHHS news release.

Katie Fullam Harris, chief government affairs officer for MaineHealth, which has two hospitals on the list, said in an interview Tuesday the fund is “intended to help rural hospitals that are struggling financially to help identify sustainable paths forward.”

Fullam Harris said it hasn’t been determined what types of projects will be funded, but it could include expanded use of telehealth and improving outpatient services.

DHHS used data from the Maine Health Data Organization to identify which hospitals would be best suited to get the financial assistance, according to the news release.

Sara Gagné-Holmes, Maine DHHS commissioner, said in a statement that the funding will “strengthen operations and preserve access to care” at rural hospitals.