ND Legislative Special Session outcomes will improve healthcare access in rural North Dakota

At the close of the 2026 Special Session of the ND Legislature on Jan. 23, 2026, lawmakers established a path to distribute the $199 million North Dakota received from the federal Rural Health Transformation Program for the first year of a five-year grant that could reach $1 billion for the state.

North Dakota Health & Human Services will roll out grant opportunities in February. Healthcare providers, faith communities, schools and others are encouraged to apply.

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Learn more from Josh Askvig, State Director, and Janelle Moos, Advocacy Director, on a special edition of All Things Advocacy.

All Things Advocacy: Special Session Update

Four policy bills were passed that ensure North Dakota receives the maximum funding possible:

• House Bill 1621 requires all schools to administer the Presidential Physical Fitness Test.
• Senate Bill 2401 requires physicians to have metabolic nutritional training -- training on how nutrition strategies and exercise improve health -- as part of their continuing education requirements.
• House Bill 1622 allows the state to join a physician assistant licensure compact, making it easier for physician assistants from other states in the compact to practice in North Dakota and vice versa.
• Senate Bill 2402 expands the scope of practice for pharmacists relating to laboratory testing and prescriptive authority.

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“The legislature is not looking to determine who administers the programs; they are deciding how to get the money into communities effectively," says Josh Askvig, AARP ND State Director.

AARP North Dakota lobbied legislators to ensure that the most prevalent healthcare concerns of our state’s older, rural residents – health care access, in-home care and caregiving – will be addressed.

“We want to see this money help North Dakotans remain in their homes and communities as they age – a desire we hear consistently and loudly from older residents,” says Askvig. “We’re especially pushing for improved telehealth options in rural areas.”

Expanding telehealth means less travel for older, rural residents, lifting a significant burden from caregivers and easing the pressure on in-home care services.

One model for increasing telehealth comes from the ND Department of Health and Human Services, which is proposing a “clinic without walls” in which telehealth would be readily available outside of health facilities – in libraries, schools and homes, as well as through increased mobile clinic availability.

“The good news is that more resources in any of our priority areas improve the situation for the other priorities,” Askvig says.

The Rural Health Transformation Program funds must be disseminated to communities by September 2026 and spent by September 2027.

More on AARP North Dakota’s priority areas for the 2026 Special Session:

• Health Care Access. Rural residents often have to travel for their healthcare. In rural communities, telehealth can be lifesaving. It provides protection from exposure to infection and can eliminate the costs and barriers of distance and transportation. Access to telehealth can improve the independence and autonomy of older residents – creating a greater likelihood that they can age in their communities.  
• Family caregivers. In North Dakota, 62,000 caregivers contributed 58 million hours annually to caring for their loved ones. They require financial relief, access to respite care, and education and training to assist them in managing their responsibilities. Additionally, caregivers need help locating essential resources that help reduce the economic and emotional burdens associated with caregiving. 
• Home care services. Most North Dakotans want to age at home in their communities. In a 2021 AARP survey, three-fourths of adults age 50-plus told us they wish to remain in their current homes and communities for as long as possible. While family caregivers often make that possible, North Dakota needs more options for in-home care. Home services are generally more cost-effective than nursing homes or assisted living.  

Follow the Special Session at ndlegis.gov/assembly/69-2025/special.