Mississippi opens up, Colorado posts June 15 RFP prep, Kansas opps forthcoming
June is gearing up for a huge month in RHT contracting
In this issue:
Legislation Watch: Alaska and Minnesota
Rhode Island establishes Rural Stakeholder Advisory Council
Colorado posts webinars recordings related to June 15 RFP launch— see detailed notes on how to take part
Mississippi readies community meetings— first words from key state
Kansas will post Community Health Worker + Accountable Food is Medicine Program Funding Opportunity May 29
Legislation Watch
Primary RHT Legislative Actions
Bills explicitly written to implement, fund, or fulfill the specific policy commitments states made in their CMS Rural Health Transformation Program applications.
Alaska HB110: The interstate licensure compact bill — extending Alaska’s participation in multistate licensure to physicians, physician assistants, psychologists, social workers, and EMS personnel. Anchorage Democratic Sen. Forrest Dunbar said it plainly on the Senate floor: “This is the Rural Health Transformation Program bill. That’s why these compacts are being done — because the administration committed to the federal government that we would pass or attempt to pass a number of these compacts.” Alaska is on track to draw more than $1 billion over five years from RHTP and a $272 million first-year award. Alaska Public Media
The bill passed unanimously in the House and 13–7 in the Senate, with all seven no votes coming from members of the bipartisan majority — a rarity in Juneau. Anchorage Republican Sen. Cathy Giessel, a nurse practitioner, was the most prominent dissent: “I don’t want to give up that authority to look at these medical professions and what they can do in our state. We are the only ones who care about and understand our state’s needs.” A companion bill on the same RHTP track, HB195, allows pharmacists to treat minor and chronic conditions and cleared by wide margins despite abortion-related concerns from some Republicans that the attorney general’s office called unfounded. Alaska Public Media
A separate nurse licensure compact bill was the only one of the planned RHTP compacts that did not pass this session — stalled by stakeholder pushback led by the state’s largest nursing union, which argued that staffing and working conditions, not licensure friction, are what drive nurse turnover in Alaska. The SCR 25 title change noted in the tracker is the concurrent resolution adjusting the official title before transmittal. HB110 now heads to Governor Dunleavy, whose office said he would evaluate the bills. Alaska Beacon
Minnesota SF4612: The omnibus Health and Human Services supplemental appropriations act — signed by Governor Walz and filed with the Secretary of State. The bill is the state-level OBBBA compliance vehicle. Its base text codifies federal Medicaid changes embedded in Public Law 119-21 (the same statute that created the RHTP), including federally mandated work requirements for adults without children, six-month renewal requirements, new cost-sharing rules, and a shortening of retroactive coverage from three months to one. Rep. Jeff Backer (R-Browns Valley) told colleagues the state risks losing $3.5 billion to $4 billion a year in federal Medicaid match without the conforming changes. Minnesota House of Representatives — Session Daily
Layered onto the OBBBA-conformance base is a nearly $660 million budget agreement between House and Senate leaders and Governor Walz that includes $205 million in direct stabilization funding for Hennepin County Medical Center — Minnesota’s flagship trauma center and safety net hospital — plus a reserve account of up to $500 million that HCMC and other hospitals with uncompensated-care burdens can draw from through 2031. The bill also restructures Hennepin Healthcare’s governance, mandating a new 11-to-15-member board with at least 70% of seats held by directors with health-system expertise. Minnesota House of Representatives — Session Daily
The conference report cleared the House 108–26 and the Senate 35–32 in the final hours of the 2026 session. The process drew criticism from minority members, including Sen. Jim Abeler (R-Anoka), who said the 300-plus page report was posted at 8 p.m. with no public conference committee. Minnesota’s federal RHTP award — $193 million, $7 million short of its CMS request — runs on a parallel track: MDH issued its first subgrant round on March 18 with applications due May 15. SF4612 is what keeps the Medicaid backbone aligned while RHTP money flows. Minnesota House of Representatives — Session Daily
Appropriation & Budgetary Links
Broad budget bills that don’t introduce RHTP policy themselves but are the legal vehicles through which RHTP receipt authority, sub-grant flows, or matching state spending get authorized.
Alaska HB263: The supplemental operating budget bill — the 30th-day supplemental introduced February 18 that now carries the spending authority Alaska’s Department of Health needs to draw down its federal RHTP award. State officials have repeatedly told lawmakers that without legislative receipt authority on the books, the $1.36 billion flow through 2030 is at risk of federal claw-back. Alaska Beacon
In November 2025 the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee approved up to $200 million in interim federal receipt authority to let Alaska accept the award; HB263 is the bill that converts that interim approval into full-session appropriations authority. The bill advanced to third reading on the May 7 calendar and was on track for a House floor vote — the MANIFEST ERROR(S) flag in the tracker indicates a clerk’s drafting correction filed after passage. Alaska Public Media
New York S09003 / A10003: Companion Senate and Assembly bills carrying the FY 2026-27 Aid to Localities appropriations — the half of the New York budget where rural hospital pass-through dollars, Medicaid match, and DOH provider payment authorizations actually live. The print-D versions reflect the 30-day amendments Governor Hochul submitted to fold in the Senate’s one-house priorities. NYSenate.gov — Senate Majority press release
New York is in line to receive $212 million in first-year RHTP funds from CMS — above the $200 million national average — and the Aid to Localities bill is the customary vehicle for the corresponding state-side appropriation authority. The Senate’s one-house resolution added $500 million in operating support for financially distressed hospitals plus $405 million for hospital rate and quality incentive programs, which would layer on top of the federal RHTP draw. As of late April, a sixth budget extender had been passed and the governor was targeting a final budget by May 19. NYSenate.gov — Sen. Helming column
New York S09000 / A10000: Companion Senate and Assembly bills carrying the FY 2026-27 State Operations appropriations — the half of the budget where DOH staffing, the Office of Rural Health, and program administration capacity for the RHTP subgrant pipeline get funded. Without State Operations authority, DOH can take the federal money but lacks the FTE authority to actually administer the program. NYS Assembly 2026 Budget
A separate FY 2026 budget action — already signed — funded a $1 billion capital and $300 million operating Safety Net Transformation Program for distressed hospitals, much of which will run on parallel tracks to the federal RHTP draw. The FY27 budget that S09000/A10000 reflects is where the RHTP administrative scaffolding gets layered in. Governor Hochul press release
Rhode Island establishes Rural Stakeholder Advisory Council
The Rural Stakeholder Advisory Council is being established to support transparent, accountable, and community-informed implementation of Rhode Island’s Rural Health Transformation Program. Learn more about the Rural Stakeholder Advisory Council.
Lots of detail posted, including nominations:
Membership
The Council is expected to include a broad range of representatives from Rhode Island’s rural health system and communities. Access the Council’s nomination form.
Representation may include:
State health and human services leadership
Public health and rural health representatives
Rural hospitals and health systems
Primary care providers
Behavioral health providers
Emergency medical services
Community-based organizations
Municipal or regional representatives
Tribal representation
Consumer or resident representatives
Higher education or workforce development partners
Other stakeholders with relevant rural health expertise
Rural Residents
Final membership will be posted once confirmed.
Rural Stakeholder Advisory Council Charter
The RSAC Charter outlines the Council’s purpose, scope, and overall advisory role within Rhode Island’s Rural Health Transformation Program.
