Governors’ health advisors collaborate to sustain the rural health workforce, leverage the Rural Health Transformation Program and boost preventive care
Charlotte, N.C. – The National Governors Association (NGA) this week hosted its Health Policy Advisors Institute, bringing together leaders from close to 20 states and territories to collaborate on strategies to advance access, trust and quality of care in rural America. State health leaders explored solutions to attract and retain rural health workers, enhance digital health options, advance Food Is Medicine and other preventive care innovations, and support primary, maternal and behavioral health services.
“Ensuring rural Americans have access to quality health care is a bipartisan priority, and governors are implementing practical action like strengthening the rural health workforce, investing in effective preventive care and tackling coverage gaps for maternal health and mental health care,” said NGA Chief Policy Officer Timothy Blute. “By partnering with local leaders and health care providers, and leveraging the Rural Health Transformation Program, governors are making sure rural residents in states and territories can get the care they need closer to home.”
“North Carolina has the second largest rural population in the entire country with about 3.5 million North Carolinians living in our small towns and rural communities,” stated North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein in video remarks. “In 1973, North Carolina’s Office of Rural Health became the first state office of its kind in the entire country. More than 50 years later, we are just as committed to rural health. We are putting our Rural Health Transformation Program dollars to work funding programs and initiatives that will help North Carolinians all around the state. No matter where people call home, they deserve access to great health care.”
Governors’ health policy advisors were joined by leading national experts from across the healthcare sector to discuss a wide range of rural health challenges – including chronic disease prevention and management. A special segment focused on Food Is Medicine as a cost-effective strategy to reduce chronic disease burden and advance population health outcomes. Another discussion examined strategies to improve rural health care access by diversifying the health care workforce and optimizing the use of existing health care facilities.
Affordability was another focus, as states and territories collaborate to navigate rising health care costs, increasing demand for critical services and evolving federal policies – including H.R. 1’s new Medicaid work and community engagement requirements. Rising healthcare costs are a major challenge both for individual patients and for state budgets. Governors are working hard to make healthcare more affordable and accessible by increasing transparency and accountability, and by directly addressing the drivers of high costs. During the NGA Health Policy Leadership Forum, state leaders collaborated with national experts to explore policy solutions to leverage innovative technology, vendor agreements, and stakeholder partnerships to strengthen Medicaid programs and align implementation with governors’ priorities.
NGA brings together governors’ health policy advisors multiple times per year to tackle a variety of state and territory health challenges by sharing best practices and offering insight into how different states find different solutions to shared problems. NGA is supporting governors’ work to successfully implement the Rural Health Transformation Program, with progress documented through an ongoing series of action reports. The next update will focus on rural maternal health policy actions.
Additionally, the NGA Center for Best Practices supports state and territory efforts to advance policy priorities through dedicated projects like the Rx for a Healthier America Initiative. Launchedin June 2025, this initiative assembled project teams from five states and territories – hosting action planning sessions, a knowledge exchange network, and real-time technical assistance to support state work to reduce the incidence and impact of chronic disease.
Check out these resources to learn more about how NGA supports governors’ work to enhance healthcare delivery and affordability:
- Healthcare Priorities in Governors’ 2026 State of the State Addresses
- 2026 Governors’ Health and Human Services Policy Advisors Institute
- NGA Convenes Governors Health and Human Services Policy Advisors Institute to Strengthen Healthcare Delivery and Sustainability in States
- Food is Medicine: A Strategic Shift in State Health Policy
- Rural Health: A Strategic Opportunity for Governors
- Leveraging the Rural Health Transformation Program to Improve Behavioral Health Outcomes
- Governors’ Policy Actions in Rural Health Workforce
- Rx For a Healthier America Policy Academy
- Strengthening Rural Maternal Mental Health
