Jeremy JohnsonA political scientist at Helena Carroll College in Montana said he doubts the strategy will bring rural voters back to Democrats in the midterms. Montana Democrats have made health care a top issue in the 2020 election, but are still swept by Republicans in statewide and federal elections.

“It’s good that we discuss these issues, but it looks like our system has grown to be very combative,” said Johnson, who focuses on political health. “If people agree on things, they don’t even talk much about it.”

Vilsack said the focus is on improving rural health care, not scoring Democrats.

“Whether it gets political support is not the goal,” Vilsack said. “The purpose of this is basically to say, ‘Look, we want you to know that when this law was made, it was made specifically for rural areas and the rest of the country.'”

The grants announced Wednesday are the first phase of a $475 million grant set aside for rural health care agencies through the American Relief Programs Act.

How funds are used varies by recipient. In Pittston, Pennsylvania — where the Department of Agriculture announced the grant — the Greater Pittston Area Ambulance Association is using its $226,900 to purchase emergency equipment. In Atchison County, Kansas, a hospital will use its $414,800 to make up for lost revenue during the pandemic.

In Terry, Montana, a hospital received about $500,000 to upgrade its emergency room. Burt Keltner, chief executive of the Prairie County Hospital District, said the intensive care hospital, built in the 1970s, fell into disrepair until staff began upgrading it after 2016. Keltner said he was relieved after two years of operation at the COVID-19 political flashpoint that the hospital was working on a project that went beyond the pandemic.

“The reality is that our communities are aging and not getting younger — people are leaving, people are dying,” Keltner said. “Whether they want us or not, we are what those people need.”

Kaiser Health News is a national health policy news service. It is an independent editorial project of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.