Rural Health Transformation Program tracker › Maryland

Maryland

Rural Health Transformation Program

Program

Maryland

First-year award

$168,180,838 (CMS)

Lead agency

Maryland Department of Health, through its State Office of Rural Health

Program page

health.maryland.gov/pophealth/Pages/Rural-Health-Transformation-Program.aspx

Contact

The program office's contact details

Where the plan names technology

Maryland's CMS-approved plan pays for service expansion and health IT advances "including advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models, telehealth, and technology-enabled chronic disease management," and has CRISP, the state-designated health information exchange, "Implement AI search functionality to allow providers to search the HIE for specific encounters, diagnoses, and medications." The program page lists CRISP's work to increase rural provider connectivity and "pilot AI technology to improve clinical workflows."

AI named in the plan

Yes

Funding rounds

Closed Apprenticeship Expansion: Employers; RAMP Expansion for Allied Health: Employers (MD Labor); $3.5M; opened Jul 10, 2026, deadline Aug 9, 2026; eligible: Employers
Closed Pipeline Training Programs; Provider Training, Recruitment and Retention Strategies (MD Labor); $15M; opened Jul 10, 2026, deadline Aug 9, 2026
Closed Post Harvest Infrastructure: Cold Storage for Producers (MDA); $3.7M; opened May 15, 2026, deadline Jun 14, 2026
Awarded Grant Funding to Expand Access to Primary Care in Rural Maryland (MHCC); approximately $6.3 million; up to $1.6 million per award; opened May 4, 2026, deadline Jun 1, 2026; eligible: Existing or newly established primary care practices, FQHCs, and organizations such as employers or local governments willing to sponsor an advanced primary care practice
Awarded Pillar 2 combined RFA for three transformation funds: service expansion and HIT advances, behavioral health service expansion, innovative care; approximately $73 million; opened Apr 21, 2026, deadline May 26, 2026; eligible: Non-profit health care providers applying alone, or collaboratives with a non-profit lead applicant; for-profit entities may be partners
Closed Food System Aggregation and Hubs; Local Foods Purchasing Strategies (RMC); $4.7M; opened Apr 21, 2026, deadline May 15, 2026
Closed NourishMD Expansion: Small Grocers & Mobile Markets (DHCD); $1.6M; opened Jan 20, 2026, deadline Feb 20, 2026
Open Rural Health Connectivity Program (CRISP); $500 for each eligible FTE provider; maximum potential payment per organization $40,000; opened Jun 30, 2026; eligible: Practices without existing ADT, CCD or InContext connections with CRISP; first come, first served, subject to available funds

Awards

Aug 10, 2026: $80 million to 41 grantees. First-round awards, including hub-and-spoke telehealth models. The transformation fund award offers list 33 projects, among them Center for a Healthy Maryland's PRISM dementia project with "AI-enabled risk stratification" and For All Seasons' behavioral health project with "AI-enabled workflows"; the primary care award offers list eight practices. Announcement

Next

MDH says it will award subawards totaling $163.7 million in Budget Period 1, of which $134.8 million goes through competitive procurement by partner agencies, and that "Additional opportunities will be posted upon their availability." The program page also lists contracts offered through competitive bidding, such as a workforce data clearinghouse and a CRISP telehealth needs assessment. Providers can join the program's listserv.

Sources: CMS, first-year awards, MDH program page, Maryland's CMS-approved plan, MDH competitive procurement opportunities, CRISP, connectivity program flyer, Pillar 2 transformation fund RFA, MHCC primary care RFA, MHCC, primary care funding, MDH, first-round awards, Transformation fund award offers, Primary care award offers, MDH FAQ

Checked against its sources Oct 13, 2026

What the money can pay for: What does the Rural Health Transformation Program pay for?.

All states Maryland on the law map