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Rural Health Transformation Program tracker › Minnesota

Minnesota

Rural Health Transformation Program
Program
Minnesota
First-year award
$193,090,618 (CMS)
Lead agency
Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), Office of Rural Health and Primary Care
Program page
health.state.mn.us/facilities/ruralhealth/ruraltrans/index.html
Contact
The program office's contact details
Where the plan names technology
Initiative 5 of Minnesota's plan, "Invest in Technology, Infrastructure, and Collaboration for Financial Viability," includes "Providing funding to rural health care providers to leverage a range of AI applications to improve the efficiency of clinical operations," and says "Rural hospitals and FQHCs can also leverage AI tools for enhanced provider notes, diagnostics, advanced care coordination capabilities, and coding and billing strategies." The plan also expands telehealth, would "Develop community telehealth access points in schools, pharmacies, local public health department offices or Tribal health organizations," and invests "in cybersecurity for eligible entities."
AI named in the plan
Yes
Funding rounds
  • Closed Rural Clinical Fellowship for Advanced Practice Providers and Other Clinicians; an estimated $330,000; awards of $100,000 to $330,000; opened Jun 22, 2026, deadline Jul 31, 2026; eligible: Accredited Minnesota training programs for advanced practice nursing, certified nurse midwifery, dental therapy, mental health professions and physician assistants, and rural clinical practice settings
  • Closed Telehealth Access Points; $257,840; awards of $50,000 to $75,000; opened May 22, 2026, deadline Jun 30, 2026; eligible: Organizations in Minnesota with an access point in a rural community, such as clinics, health systems, hospitals, Tribal Nations, pharmacies, local public health departments, schools, long-term care facilities, libraries and community-based organizations
  • Closed Physician Rural Residency Training Program; an estimated $1,500,000; awards of $50,000 to $350,000; opened May 26, 2026, deadline Jun 30, 2026; eligible: Minnesota-based residency programs, sponsors and potential sponsors
  • Closed Rural Clinical Rotations Expansion Grant Program; an estimated $526,550; awards of $500,000 to $526,550; opened May 26, 2026, deadline Jun 30, 2026; eligible: Accredited Minnesota programs in advanced practice nursing, dental, dental therapy, medical schools, mental health professions, pharmacy, physician assistant and physician residency
  • Closed Statewide Tele-buprenorphine Access Line; an estimated $1,000,000; one award of $750,000 to $1,000,000; opened May 11, 2026, deadline Jun 29, 2026; eligible: Minnesota Health Care Programs-enrolled providers, including licensed hospitals or health systems, FQHCs, rural health clinics, Tribal health organizations, urban Indian health programs, licensed behavioral health organizations, telehealth providers and community-based organizations partnering with licensed prescribers, among others
  • Closed Healthcare Workforce Retention Program; an estimated $183,000; one award of $150,000 to $183,000; opened May 11, 2026, deadline Jun 22, 2026; eligible: Minnesota organizations with knowledge of rural health systems and a proven track record in burnout mitigation and retention
  • Closed Child and Adolescent Mental Health Initiatives; an estimated $1,782,000; awards of $200,000 to $400,000; opened May 11, 2026, deadline Jun 15, 2026; eligible: Organizations in Minnesota outside the seven-county metro area serving rural communities, such as established collaboratives, counties or county consortia, and Tribal Nations
  • Closed Project ECHO for Maternal and Behavioral Health; an estimated $330,000; awards of $100,000 to $330,000; opened May 4, 2026, deadline Jun 3, 2026; eligible: Minnesota for-profit or not-for-profit entities with extensive experience in rural health education, trained in iECHO
  • Closed Rural Health Transformation Program grants for rural hospitals, FQHCs, CCBHCs/CMHCs and Tribal Nations (notices of grant opportunity); Budget Period 1 allocated 70% to hospitals (94 eligible), 5% to FQHCs (5), 2% to CCBHCs/CMHCs (16) and 2% to Tribal Nations (10); estimated maximum of $1,400,000 per hospital; opened Mar 18, 2026, deadline May 26, 2026; eligible: Rural hospitals, rural FQHCs, rural CCBHCs/CMHCs and rural Tribal Nations; the hospital notice limits eligibility to the hospitals listed in its Attachment A
Next
MDH's funding page says "There are no current open grants and contracts opportunities" and lists no awards. The hospital notice says MDH expected grant agreements to start in June 2026 and allocates 45% of the state's award to hospitals in each of Budget Periods 2 through 5. MDH also sought vendors for services, including health IT advisory services, technical assistance on health IT and rural telehealth services. Questions go to [email protected], and MDH offers email updates.
Sources: CMS, first-year awards, MDH program page, Minnesota's project narrative, MDH funding opportunities, Notice of grant opportunity, rural hospitals, Telehealth Access Points RFP, Rural Clinical Fellowship RFP, Physician Rural Residency RFP, Rural Clinical Rotations RFP, Tele-buprenorphine RFP, Workforce Retention RFP, Child and Adolescent Mental Health RFP, Project ECHO RFP
Checked against its sources

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

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