The Trump administration announced a $160 million federal investment in rural health infrastructure across Alaska through the Rural Health Transformation Program.
The funding will support 142 projects statewide, including robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery in Southeast Alaska, deployment of AI-powered medical imaging across 21 hospitals, drone technology for medication delivery to remote villages, and creation of a tribally led behavioral health and recovery campus. Additional projects will strengthen health data infrastructure and support training and recruitment of primary care physicians.
Specific allocations include $6.5 million for robotic surgery capabilities in Southern Southeast Alaska, $5 million for the tribally led behavioral health campus, $4.75 million for health data infrastructure, approximately $4.6 million for physician workforce development, over $3.1 million for AI imaging network implementation, and $250,000 for drone delivery system development.
The announcement is part of a larger allocation to Alaska from the program, which provides $272 million annually for five years, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the investment would "put resources directly into rural communities to strengthen the health workforce, modernize infrastructure, expand access, and bring care closer to home."