Rural Maryland Council details grant deadlines and new $168 million rural health award

CHARLOTTE DAVIS, executive director of the Rural Maryland Council, told the Southern Maryland Delegation on Feb. 6 that the council is "level funded" in the governor's FY27 budget but has "been cut 30% over the past 2 years," and urged members of appropriations and budget committees to preserve current funding.

Davis said seven FY2026 grantees in Southern Maryland received a total of $835,875 and encouraged more applications from St. Mary's and Calvert counties. She announced the council plans to open its grant portal on April 20 and will accept letters of intent by May 15, with both online and at least one in-person grant information session for the region.

The presentation included details about a new federal-state Rural Health Transformation program. "The Maryland Department of Health applied to the Centers for Medicaid Services, and we received award of a 168,000,000 over 5 years for rural health," Davis said. As a subrecipient, the Rural Maryland Council will participate in three program pillars: workforce development, expanded telehealth and mobile or integrated care, and improved local food access. She said the program is expected to create a Southern Maryland Area Health Education Center (AHEC).

Davis warned the delegation that the Department of Health must submit a revised budget to CMS and that funds for the first year must be obligated by September 2026, creating a tight timeline for implementing subrecipient activities. On the food-access pillar, the council plans an RFP in April to support aggregation and institutional purchasing of locally grown food, with selection criteria still under development.

She also briefed members on a rural-focused round of Opportunity Zones tied to HR 1 and noted that the U.S. Treasury will release eligible census tracts ahead of state designations by July 2026, a potential channel for private investment in rural projects.

The Rural Maryland Council offered to share the grant application that was submitted and invited follow-up questions and suggestions from delegation members. The matter will proceed through administrative approvals at the Department of Health and CMS before local projects are finalized.