Note: National Rural Health Day is a week out, and the governors spent the week restating their Year 2 numbers. Three of them said something new along the way. RHTP Verified Intelligence reads every release so you don’t have to.
In this issue:
CMS posts its State Programmatic Snapshots for Budget Period 2, and Illinois and Oregon each drop a policy commitment
Montana says its Center of Excellence facility application comes by the end of the year
Texas says Year 2 Rural Texas Strong applications open in November
Maryland puts its Year 1 competitive awards at nearly $129 million to 187 organizations
Arkansas’s Baxter Health opens three RHTP-funded RFPs: MRI System, Ambulance Fleet Expansion and Nursing Communication Devices for Baxter Health
Utah lets vendors apply directly to the SPRINT-UETN Consortium Application, $20.9 million, due November 20
CMS posts its State Programmatic Snapshots for Budget Period 2, and Illinois and Oregon each drop a policy commitment
We covered the Year 2 amounts November 10. The 308-page snapshot, dated November 5, adds a column the State Data Maps don’t have: what each state policy action earned the state in Year 2.
Across all 50 states, those lines add up to about $780 million. North Dakota’s eight policy lines brought in $26.6 million. Massachusetts’s four brought in $5.3 million. SNAP food-restriction waivers are the largest single line, worth up to $6.64 million. Short-term limited-duration insurance pays a flat $2.57 million everywhere it’s in place.
The snapshot also lists a status no other state carries. Illinois’s licensure-compact commitment and Oregon’s pharmacist scope-of-practice commitment both read “Commitment no longer being pursued.” Both states now show zero commitments. CMS rescores policy actions every year, so a dropped commitment costs money in the next budget period too, not just this one.
If you sell into workforce or pharmacy in those two states, the policy route you were counting on is now closed.
Montana says its Center of Excellence facility application comes by the end of the year, in Governor Gianforte press release
Yesterday we reported DPHHS had taken down its Year 2 delay notice. The governor’s November 9 release says “CMS announced the year two award figure on November 6,” three days before the public announcement, and lists what Year 2 buys:
The contracted analytical experts will begin their work to produce community access assessments for rural areas and corollary recommendations for facility sustainability. The application process for facilities interested in participating in CoE work will be announced by the end of the year.
EHR: “Launching the first wave of EHR modernization grants” for rural providers
New in Year 2: a home-visiting pilot for new and expecting parents, added after the Stakeholder Advisory Committee raised maternal health
Tribal: the Community Health Aide Program framework, and workforce training such as Caring for Our Own
The Center of Excellence has two contracted partners, one for the analysis and one for implementing its recommendations, plus a 25-member advisory council. A facility that wants in applies to the program, not to a solicitation.
Texas says Year 2 Rural Texas Strong applications open in November, in Governor Abbott press release
Yesterday it was the contract package for Year 1 grantees. The governor’s November 10 release turns to Year 2:
HHSC will use a competitive process to allocate funds for initiatives that:
Reduce chronic disease through prevention, wellness and nutrition services
Invest in consumer-facing technology to engage patients on improving their health
Deploy artificial intelligence and telehealth services to bridge service gaps
Recruit and retain rural healthcare workers through career development, scholarships, relocation payments, and training programs
Improve cybersecurity defenses to protect patient data
Upgrade equipment in rural hospitals and clinics
Eligible providers may apply for these initiatives beginning in November. Public notices and procurement opportunities for Rural Texas Strong will be announced through GovDelivery email notifications.
That’s the HHSC GovDelivery signup. With the month half gone, the notices come by email, not on a bid board.
Maryland puts its Year 1 competitive awards at nearly $129 million to 187 organizations, in Governor Moore press release
The November 9 release confirms $168,410,111 for Year 2 and gives the first count of Year 1 recipients:
In its first year, the Department received $168 million and awarded nearly $129 million through a competitive process to 187 organizations
Transform the Rural Health Workforce: about $17 million, $16.4 million of it for training and retaining advanced practitioners
Promote Sustainable Access and Innovative Care: about $102 million, including $80 million to 41 recipients for primary care, dental and behavioral health
Empower Rural Marylanders to Eat for Health: about $10 million, including $1.65 million to NourishMD
Against the $168,180,837.61 Year 1 award, that leaves about $39 million outside the competitive rounds, which the release says supports “implementation of statewide initiatives.” Yesterday’s Rural Maryland Council list, $4.68 million to 20 grantees, sits inside the Eat for Health pillar.
