HCA outlines rural health transformation plan, contracts and competitive solicitations

Michelle Needham, Chief Policy Officer at the Health Care Authority, told the committee the rural health transformation program was approved in March and is structured as six initiative buckets covering roughly 30 projects that prioritize rural hospitals, tribal investments, technology and data, workforce training, behavioral health expansion and community prevention.

Needham said HCA is the lead agency accountable to CMS and is working closely with the Department of Health, the Department of Social and Health Services and tribal nations; some contracts (for example with the hospital association and a rural collaborative) are already executed and funds are moving to community partners. She said the agency has posted competitive solicitations for provider technology, maternal emergency and specialty services, opioid treatment provider recruitment and other projects and expects many applications in August.

Needham emphasized the program’s short runway: progress reports are due to CMS in August and contracts must be in place by October to avoid losing funds in the program’s second year. The program includes targeted investments to rural hospitals, tribal nations (29 sovereign nations noted), community behavioral health, and training partnerships with universities.

Committee members asked about whether the program offsets other HR 1 cuts; Needham said the rural health transformation investments are separate and “are not directly tied” to the cuts described earlier, though they can’t fully replace lost reimbursement revenue.

HCA asked for continued legislative partnership on procurement, contracting, and cross‑agency coordination to move projects into communities rapidly.