State Rep. Jerry Neyer today criticized a plan from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) that could allow Michigan’s largest counties to qualify for federal grants intended to support rural healthcare and rural hospitals.

Under MDHHS’s eligibility criteria, counties like Oakland and Wayne are labeled as “partially rural,” making them eligible to receive funding under the federal Rural Health Transformation (RHT) Program, even though these areas are home to Michigan’s largest population centers.

“If someone honestly thinks Wayne County is ‘rural,’ they’ve never stepped foot outside of Lansing,” said Neyer (R-Shepherd). “These dollars were created to help rural communities where hospitals are struggling, doctors are harder to find, and families have to drive further just to get basic care. They weren’t meant to be siphoned off by massive urban systems with political connections.”

The Rural Health Transformation Program was created under the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 to improve healthcare access and outcomes in rural communities. States were authorized to apply for a share of $50 billion in federal funding nationwide over the next five years distributed annually.

Despite ranking among the top ten states for rural population, Michigan received just $173.1 million, placing the state in the bottom ten nationwide. Nearby states such as Iowa ($209 million) and Ohio ($202 million) received significantly larger allocations.

Neyer said MDHHS not only failed to secure a stronger federal award, but is now making it worse by stretching the definition of “rural” so far that it becomes meaningless.

“This isn’t complicated,” said Neyer. “Rural communities were promised support, and they should get it. MDHHS shouldn’t be bending definitions in a way that lets the biggest counties elbow everyone else out.”

The Rural Health Transformation grants must be awarded and distributed by December. Neyer said he will continue pushing for transparency and fairness to ensure rural communities receive the support the federal program was created to provide.