Alaska issues intent to award $30 million to 37 rural health projects

The Alaska Department of Health issued notices of intent Friday, Aug. 14, to award more than $30 million to 37 rural health projects across the state, one week after its first round of awards. Final amounts remain subject to budget review and execution of a grant agreement, so the money is not yet guaranteed to reach recipients.

A first notice on Aug. 7 covered more than $4.5 million for 19 projects, including a $650,200 preliminary award to the Alaska Primary Care Association to implement a Medicare Shared Savings Program at four rural Federally Qualified Health Centers. Together, the two rounds account for roughly $35 million of Alaska's first year award of $272,174,856. The money comes from a financial assistance award from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services totaling $272,174,855.72, funded entirely by CMS and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Alaska received the award in December 2025 as part of a five year, $50 billion national program created by H.R. 1. Alaska News has previously covered the state's rollout, including regional planning meetings and the roughly $2.5 billion in first year requests organizations submitted against $272 million available. The department received nearly 1,800 letters of interest. Of those, 403 were invited to submit full implementation applications and 28 were preliminarily approved for planning pathway funding.

The pace of the awards has drawn criticism. Policy commentator Chris Nelson argued in a published analysis that the first round represented less than 2 percent of the year one allocation and amounted to a missed opportunity to strengthen rural care quickly. The department has said decisions move forward as it resolves outstanding questions with applicants and CMS.

The department says the investments advance three program goals: promoting lifelong health and wellbeing for rural, remote and frontier Alaskans, building sustainable, outcomes driven health systems, and driving workforce and technology innovation. Projects in both rounds align with six state initiatives: Healthy Beginnings, Health Care Access, Healthy Communities, Pay for Value: Fiscal Sustainability, Strengthen Workforce, and Spark Technology and Innovation. A full list of projects selected for notices of intent to award is posted on the department's website and will be updated as more awards are finalized.

Recipients describe what the money is meant to do on the ground. Alaska Behavioral Health presents its Seeds of Change expansion as a way to increase behavioral health engagement and reduce treatment dropout, particularly for Alaskans with serious mental illness and those moving to and from rural communities. The Alaska Hospital & Healthcare Association describes its "Find Your Fit" project as a career platform and recruitment campaign for health facilities, including those in rural areas. Alaska Impact Alliance positions its 907 Navigation platform expansion as a way to connect rural and frontier residents with health care, social services and public benefits.

Recipients also face a deadline. At the Rural Health Transformation Advisory Council meeting on July 1, program manager Betsy Wood said "organizations should plan to complete their project activities and expend their awarded funds by June 30th, 2027."

The department said additional award notices will continue weekly on Fridays.