Doctor holding stethoscope with American flag The grants announced Wednesday are the first stage of allocations from $475 million set aside for rural health care organizations through the American Rescue Plan Act. (Photo: Shutterstock)

As the midterm election season ramps up, the Biden administration wants rural Americans to know it'll be spending a lot of money to improve health care in rural areas. It has tasked Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack with delivering the message that the covid-19 pandemic exposed long-standing problems with health care infrastructure in remote parts of the country and pushed many rural health providers to the brink.

Vilsack spoke to KHN ahead of an announcement Wednesday that the Agriculture Department has awarded $43 million in grants to 93 rural health care providers and community groups in 22 states. Biden administration Cabinet members are fanning out across the country to promote the benefits of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act and a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package to rural Americans.

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