Governor Stein Outlines Priorities to Support Rural North Carolinians at NC Rural Summit

Today Governor Josh Stein joined the NC Rural Center’s 2026 Rural Summit to highlight his commitment to investing in the infrastructure and resources North Carolina’s rural communities need to thrive. Governor Stein also marked the third anniversary since North Carolina passed Medicaid expansion, which has provided more than 720,000 North Carolinians, including 250,000 rural North Carolinians, with affordable health care.

“Our state is home to more than 3.5 million rural North Carolinians, the second-largest rural population in the country,” said Governor Josh Stein. “In North Carolina, where you come from should never limit how far you can go. We must strengthen infrastructure, including broadband, expand access to affordable health care, and invest in workforce development so that rural North Carolina is part of the state’s success story.” 

Governor Stein is committed to investing in rural North Carolina. This week, Governor Stein visited Sampson County for his second of a series of Rural Listening Sessions. Earlier this month, the Governor kicked off his Rural Listening Tour, where he and cabinet secretaries are traveling throughout the state to meet with community leaders to hear their concerns and priorities for strengthening rural communities. The tour represents the Stein administration's whole-of-government approach to rural development. In the coming weeks and months, cabinet secretaries will host listening sessions across the state, focusing on health care, economic development and jobs, infrastructure, and more. Click here to learn more about upcoming Rural Listening Sessions.  

Last month, Governor Stein and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced more than $472 million in funding for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects in 66 of North Carolina’s 100 counties. These funds will help support healthy cities and towns by upgrading aging water infrastructure to better withstand storms and improve communities’ drinking water systems. In December, Governor Stein also announced that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approved North Carolina’s proposal to bring more than $300 million in high-speed internet projects to homes and communities across the state, primarily in rural areas, through the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. 

In December, Governor Stein and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) secured $213 million from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services through the Rural Health Transformation Program to improve health care access for the more than 3.5 million people living in rural communities. These funds will support more than 400 rural health care facilities and invest in strengthening the rural health care workforce through rural residency programs, incentives, and innovative career pathways. Earlier this week, Governor Stein joined the groundbreaking ceremony for AdventHealth Weaverville’s new hospital. The new hospital will create 1,300 jobs and provide a closer hospital option for those living in Madison and Yancey counties.