Alaska sets final rules for $75 million in rural health grants, due Oct. 28

The Alaska Department of Health this week posted final scoring rules for about $75 million in federal rural health grants, the second round of money under the Rural Health Transformation Program. Applications are due Oct. 28.

Demand in the first round far outran the money. Applicants requested $2.5 billion against the $272 million available, Alaska's first-year award from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

This time, each organization can submit up to five applications. The department also dropped the letter-of-interest step that opened the first round. "What we heard from applicants was that the application process was too long between the letters of interest to the application. That was 24 weeks," Health Commissioner Heidi Hedberg said at a department webinar earlier this month.

The final rules keep a change Alaska News reported Sept. 23: applications will be scored on cost-effectiveness, worth 10% of the total.

After public comment, the department made seven more changes, according to a summary of changes. Applicants can now explain unusual costs driven by rural Alaska, such as travel, freight, recruitment or housing. A lack of formal partnerships is no longer, by itself, a weakness. And the department says it will not set quotas or caps by organization or provider type.

Hedberg said January is the earliest possible start for fall-round awards. A second Year 2 round is expected in spring 2027.