On December 29, 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) awarded Kentucky $212.9 million as part of the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) for fiscal year 2026 (FY 2026). The RHTP fund was authorized by Congress as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1) earlier last year. The funds were allocated under H.R. 1 totaled $50 billion to be awarded to states over a five-year funding period from fiscal years 2026 – 2030. Half of these funds are to be distributed to states equally, while the other half of the funds are to be distributed by CMS based on various details and circumstances related to the rural health landscape.
The funds are part of a major federal initiative to “strengthen rural communities across America by improving healthcare access, quality, and outcomes by transforming the healthcare delivery ecosystem”. Each state was invited to submit an application outlining its plans to use these funds in accordance with the stated intent.
Details for Kentucky’s RHTP Implementation
Kentucky’s RHTP vision, goals, and strategies, as outlined in the Project Narrative, focus on “care innovation and collaboration across four key dimensions of health quality: Engagement, Access, Prevention, and Delivery.” Kentucky’s RHTP application focuses on five initiatives:
Source: Kentucky RHTP Project Narrative – CMS-RHT-26-001
The application goes into further detail regarding the objectives, key results, measured outcomes, and target goals for each initiative. Each initiative also has a specific implementation plan and timeline, outlined under the following stages:
Source: Kentucky RHTP Project Narrative – CMS-RHT-26-001
To read the full application, please visit the official Kentucky RHTP site.
The Department for Public Health (DPH) has been identified as the lead agency supporting Kentucky’s RHTP implementation. As part of this process, a new “A3 Team” will be created to manage the various aspects of the RHTP initiatives and ensure the project meets state goals and objectives while remaining fiscally responsible. This new team will also work to establish private-public partnerships (PPP) in an effort to sustain these initiatives beyond the 5-year grant period. The proposed staffing for this team would include an additional 20 FTEs in the areas of Leadership Core, Initiative Leads, Horizontal Leads, and Support Analysts.
How can your organization take advantage of this opportunity?
Since Governor Beshear’s office announced the notice of funding late last month, our offices have received numerous client questions about how to take advantage of these funds. The application text does not offer many details on the opportunities that may be available for rural providers, however the application does reference various “pilot” sites under the various initiatives. There may be opportunities for providers to serve as sub-grant awardees, as is currently available in some other states, but those details have not yet been fully released for Kentucky. You can reach out directly to Kentucky’s RHTP Team with questions using the following email address: ruralhealthplan@ky.gov.
Contact Us
The official launch of Kentucky’s RHTP project is expected within the coming weeks and will likely provide more details on how rural Hospitals, clinics, and other providers can express their interest in inclusion in any of the state’s initiatives. Our office is closely monitoring any communications and updates related to Kentucky’s RHTP and will push out relevant updates to our clients as we have more information. If you have any questions in the interim, please do not hesitate to reach out to one of our experts.
