Alaska issues intent to award $6.9 million to seven more rural health projects

Seven more rural health projects, with service areas stretching from Bristol Bay to the Kenai Peninsula, received Notices of Intent to Award totaling $6.9 million from the Alaska Department of Health on Friday. The round pushes Year 1 commitments under the federal Rural Health Transformation Program to nearly $242 million, leaving roughly $30 million of the state's $272,174,855.72 first-year award uncommitted. The department's full award notice spreadsheet lists project-level detail, though this week's release did not name the seven recipients individually.

A Notice of Intent to Award is not a disbursement: final amounts and terms remain subject to budget review and execution of a grant agreement. The department said it anticipates completing Year 1 awards in the coming weeks. Alaska must obligate its full Year 1 allocation by October 30, 2026, the deadline built into the program's first-year budget period.

The program is Alaska's share of a five-year, $50 billion federal initiative administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Awards began on August 7 with more than $4.5 million to 19 projects, then continued on a rolling weekly schedule. Alaska News has previously covered the arithmetic constraining those decisions: first-cycle requests reached roughly $2.5 billion against the $272.2 million available, and totals passed $239 million with a $30 million round.

Earlier awards indicate the range of what qualifies. Alaska Behavioral Health received $593,100 to expand its Seeds of Change hydroponic therapeutic model in Anchorage. Norton Sound Health Corporation received $292,100 to establish a centralized patient navigation and scheduling hub. Girdwood Health Clinic Inc. received $100,000 for an FQHC-integrated telepharmacy model in the Turnagain Arm area.

At the Rural Health Transformation Advisory Council meeting on September 23, Betsy Wood, executive director of the Office of Health Savings, said the initiatives carry no hard caps. "I think one thing that Alaska is doing a bit differently than most other states is really taking a community-based approach to the way that we're distributing the funds," Wood said.

The Year 2 fall cycle opens at 1 p.m. Alaska time on Wednesday, September 30, and runs four weeks; applications are due by 11:59 p.m. Alaska time on Wednesday, October 28. It is the first of two Year 2 cycles, with a second expected in 2027. Changes include a single application stage with no separate letter of interest, a one-time organization registration, updated questions, a limit of five applications per organization, and separate criteria for planning and implementation projects. Three focus areas are new: Pay for Value Readiness, Care Coordination Readiness and Emergency Medical Services, alongside a continuing open call for projects outside them.

The department is accepting public comment on the draft evaluation frameworks through October 9 at 5 p.m. Alaska time, by email to [email protected], and plans to repost finalized frameworks by October 14. An application walkthrough is set for October 1 and an applicant support webinar for October 2.