For new subscribers, peep these resources:

2026 Q2 Newsletter Activity Index: state-by state, topic-by-topic deeplinks
Q2 RFP Review / Q3 RFP Watcher: Every procurement from Q2, near-term contracting outlook, and state-by-state analysis
The 50-State RHTP Field Guide: downloadable PDF with RHT personality, program maturity, federal outlays, open procurements, engagement activity, rural geography, and contacts

In this issue:

North Dakota tells a multi-site hospital system it can file two Technology as an Extender applications under one EIN
Maryland puts project period start dates on all ten Budget Period 1 funding opportunities
Utah forecasts SHIFT 3.4 New Models of Care, $10 million opening August 17
Idaho posts five RHTP subaward solicitations in one day, $14 million and all due September 8
Four of Idaho’s five new solicitations buy a pass-through administrator, not a service
Pennsylvania names 35 to its RHTP Advisory Council and opens Regional Rural Care Collaboratives nominations

North Dakota answers the EIN question on Technology as an Extender: apply per location

Two answers went onto the Technology as an Extender FAQ yesterday. The first is a repeat of the eligibility list we ran on August 6, told to an organization headquartered in an urban North Dakota city. The second is new, and it is the useful one:

Can an entity submit two applications under one EIN if those CAHs are in two different cities? Answer: Yes, entities can apply per location. Operating under the same EIN does not prohibit entities from submitting two applications.

Technology as an Extender is about $5 million with an estimated 20 awards averaging $250,000, and it closes Monday, August 18 at 5:00 p.m. CT. A system running critical access hospitals in three towns can now file three applications against a $250,000 average award instead of one. That materially changes who the biggest winner in this round is likely to be, six days before the door shuts.

Worth putting next to Tennessee, whose entity-determination guidance ran in that same August 6 issue and went the other direction — it stopped relying solely on TIN/EIN status and started weighing organizational name, affiliations, and operational structure.

Maryland puts project period start dates on all ten Budget Period 1 funding opportunities

A day after posting $78.6 million in Pillar 2 award offers, Maryland re-datestamped the program page to 08-11-2026 and added an Anticipated Project Period Start Date to every row of the Budget Period 1 table. Here’s the dates:

Telehealth Needs Assessment (CRISP) — 7/1/2026
Primary Care Practice Creation and Expansion (MHCC, $6.3M) — 8/1/2026
NourishMD Expansion (DHCD, $1.6M) — 8/1/2026
Service Expansion and HIT Advances, Behavioral Health, Innovative Care (MDH + HSCRC, $73M) — 8/15/2026
Apprenticeship and RAMP Expansion (MD Labor, $3.5M) — 9/1/2026
Pipeline Training, Provider Recruitment and Retention (MD Labor, $15M) — 9/1/2026
Food System Aggregation and Local Purchasing (RMC, $4.7M) — 9/1/2026
Workforce Data Clearinghouse (MDH) — 10/1/2026
Efficiency of Local Agency Operations (Garrett LHD) — 10/1/2026
Post Harvest Cold Storage (MDA, $3.7M) — 10/1/2026

Three of those start dates are already in the past, and the $73 million line starts Friday. Maryland issued the award offers for that pillar on August 10, which means the largest single block of money in the state’s Budget Period 1 has a project period beginning five days after the offer letters went out and before a single agreement is executed. Two rows now read “Award Offers” where they used to read a posting window.

Utah forecasts SHIFT 3.4 New Models of Care, $10 million opening August 17

Posted August 11 as Forecasted, estimated open August 17, estimated project start October 5. Up to $10,000,000 and 12 anticipated awards. From the state’s own scope:

“The purpose of this Request for Grant Applications (RFGA) is to transform rural healthcare access and care coordination to drive measurable improvements in health outcomes.” Funded projects “will support innovative solutions in key service areas including mobile care, transportation, prevention, chronic disease management, behavioral health, cancer care, and maternal and child” health.

We first ran SHIFT 3.4 off Utah’s June 27 webinar deck, where it was marked Concepting, at $10 million in Year 1 against $45 million over five, with 10 to 15 awards and roughly $335,000 carved out for non-emergency medical transportation. The award count has settled at 12 and the state now has a date.

Eligibility: Applicants must prove legal operational status in Utah or an eligible border state — Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, or Nevada — with a business license, 501(c) letter, statutory authorization, or tribal resolution depending on entity type. Utah is one of very few states writing out-of-state applicants into eligibility on purpose. SHIFT 3.2 closes Friday and PATH 1.4 closes Monday, so 3.4 opens the same week two others shut.

Rural Health Transformation Grant Tracker

Idaho posts five RHTP subaward solicitations…

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