Indiana Rural Health Transformation Program Grant Application Working Group

Indiana Rural Health Transformation Program Grant Application Working Group

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act includes $50 billion* for a Rural Health Transformation Program which is a federal relief program to transform care and improve health outcomes in rural communities.

Rural Health Transformation Program will be available for supporting rural communities to improve healthcare access, quality, and outcomes through system transformation. The RHT Program focuses on promoting innovation, strategic partnerships, infrastructure development, and workforce investment.

The RHTP Working Group is a collaborative effort led by the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration and the Indiana Department of Health with a goal to engage stakeholders across the state to identify best use of the funds to meet the objectives of the program. Indiana's RHTP Application seeks to help rural communities meet these strategic goals:

• Make rural America healthy again: Support rural health innovations and new access points to promote preventative health and address root causes of diseases. Projects will use evidence-based, outcomes-driven interventions to improve disease prevention, chronic disease management, behavioral health, and prenatal care.
• Sustainable access: Help rural providers become long-term access points for care by improving efficiency and sustainability. With RHT Program support, rural facilities work together—or with high-quality regional systems—to share or coordinate operations, technology, primary and specialty care, and emergency services.
• Workforce development: Attract and retain a high-skilled health care workforce by strengthening recruitment and retention of healthcare providers in rural communities. Help rural providers practice at the top of their license and develop a broader set of providers to serve a rural community’s needs, such as community health workers, pharmacists, and individuals trained to help patients navigate the healthcare system.
• Innovative care: Spark the growth of innovative care models to improve health outcomes, coordinate care, and promote flexible care arrangements. Develop and implement payment mechanisms incentivizing providers or Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) to reduce health care costs, improve quality of care, and shift care to lower cost settings.
• Tech innovation: Foster use of innovative technologies that promote efficient care delivery, data security, and access to digital health tools by rural facilities, providers, and patients. Projects support access to remote care, improve data sharing, strengthen cybersecurity, and invest in emerging technologies.

For more information, please consult Indiana's RHTP Project Summary, Indiana's full RHTP Project Narrative, and Indiana's RHTP Budget Narrative.

Significant Dates

• Letter of Intent to Submit Application: September 30, 2025
• Application Submission Deadline:  November 5, 2025, by 11:59 p.m. ET.
• CMS Expected Award Date: December 31, 2025
• Expected Earliest Funding Start Date: December 31, 2025

Thank you to all vendors, consultants and associations who submitted ideas or initiatives for Indiana RHTP application. The state application was submitted to CMS on Tuesday, November 4. After submission, the state will begin assessing vendor needs to achieve the initiatives for Indiana. Follow ups will occur in the form of RFIs or RFPs in the near future. Results from the rural community health survey can be found here. Please continue to check the Indiana Department of Administration current business opportunities website.

*Total $50B split by $10B for each fiscal year 2026-2030.
**Working Group meeting dates listed below.

View the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Rural Health Transformation Program Notice of Funding Opportunity (opportunity number: CMS-RHT-26-001) here.

Working Group Members

Executive Oversight

• Audrey Arbogast, Chief of Staff, Indiana Health and Family Service
• Mitch Roob, Secretary, Indiana Family and Social Services Administration
• Lindsay Weaver, MD, FACEP, State Health Commissioner, Indiana Department of Health

State Agencies

• Eden Bezy, MPH, Assistant Commissioner, Women Children & Families Commission, Indiana Department of Health
• Paul Bowling, Chief Financial Officer, Indiana Family and Social Services Administration
• Michael Cook, Director, Provider Services, Indiana Medicaid, Indiana Family and Social Services Administration
• Jon Ferguson, JD, Chief of Staff/Deputy Health Commissioner, Indiana Department of Health
• Lindsey Lux, Chief of Staff/Deputy Director, Indiana Medicaid, Indiana Family and Social Services Administration
• Eric Miller, MPA, MBA, Deputy Secretary / Chief of Staff, Indiana Family and Social Services Administration
• Katrina Norris, LCSW LAC CADAC V, Executive Director, Indiana State Psychiatric Hospital Network, Indiana Family and Social Services Administration
• Sarah Sailors, Director Division of Mental Health & Addiction, Indiana Family and Social Services Administration
• Tara Morse, Director Indiana 211, Indiana Family and Social Services Administration

Legislators

• Beau Baird, State Representative, District 44
• Brad Barrett, MD, State Representative, District 56
• Greg Goode, State Senator, District 38

Rural Health Landscape Members

• Anne Hazlett, JD, LLM, Senior Director of Governmental Relations and Public Affairs, Purdue University
• Patrick McGill, MD, MBA, FAAFP, Chief Medical Information Officer, Community Hospital CEO & Medical Director, Adams Health Network
• Scott Smith, MD, MBA, Indiana Rural Health Association Board Member
• Cara Veale, DHS, FACHE, Chief Executive Officer, Indiana Rural Health Association
• Cameual Wright, MD, MBA, President, CareSource Indiana Market, Indiana Rural Health Association Board Member
• Eric Yazel, MD, EMS Medical Director, State of Indiana Department of Homeland Security

Working Group Meetings

*Note the time change on Session #3

Meeting recording will be posted after each session.

Stakeholder Meetings

In-person informal stakeholder gathering focused on rural health priorities.

Note: Schedule is subject to change as details of applications and deadlines are released by CMS.

Working Group members are encouraged to contribute insights and recommendations by emailing ruralhealthworkgroup@fssa.in.gov.