# Rural Clinician Credit Bank: Recruitment & Retention Funding for Rural Louisiana Providers

The Rural Clinician Credit Bank, funded by the Rural Health Transformation Program, provides matching funds to rural healthcare employers in Louisiana for recruitment and retention payments to eligible clinical staff who sign a 5-year service commitment. Providers execute a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with LDH as a subrecipient and invoice the program for reimbursement of payments made to eligible rural staff. Per-clinician caps: physician $75,000, dentist $60,000, nurse practitioner $50,000, mental/behavioral health $45,000, LPN $20,000; a $1,500,000 ceiling applies per multi-entity system. Employer match ramps 25% (Y1-Y2) to 75% (Y5) from non-federal sources. Year 1 outcome (per LDH's September 2026 shareholder update): $10,000,000 advertised allocation of record, 136 applications received, 70 eligible after screening, and 53 awards made totaling $12,701,996. Year 2 applications open November 2026.

## Key facts

- Status: Closed
- Type: NOFO
- Issued by: Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Rural Health Transformation and Sustainability (Louisiana)
- Posted: 2026-05-15
- Questions due: 2026-05-22
- Application due: 2026-06-25
- Funding: $10.0M – $12.7M
- Eligible applicants: Rural Health Clinic, FQHC, Critical Access Hospital, Small Rural Hospital, Rural Emergency Hospital, Behavioral Health/Substance Use Provider, Independent Practice, Dental Office, Pharmacy, EMS Agency, Program for All Inclusive Care of the Elderly
- How to apply: Online application at the Louisiana DOA portal: https://www.doa.la.gov/Pages/osrap/VendorPayments.aspx
- Funding source: Rural Health Transformation Program (CMS)
- Official source: https://ldh.la.gov/assets/docs/Secretary/RHTP/Rural-Clinician-Credit-Bank-NOFO.pdf

## Eligibility

Eligible applicants include rural health clinics, rural Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), critical access hospitals, small rural hospitals, rural emergency hospitals, behavioral health or substance use providers, independent practices, dental offices, pharmacies, EMS agencies, and PACE programs located in rural Louisiana as defined by the Rural Health Transformation Program.

## Requirements

Submit initial application, Statement of Work (per Appendix B), and Projected Financial Support Schedule (per Appendix C). Participate in workforce and demographic reporting as required. Execute a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with LDH. Ensure each supported clinician agrees to a 5-year service commitment. Comply with audit, monitoring, and reporting requirements. Employers must provide a cash cost share per year of operation and return repayments if service commitments are not fulfilled.

## Required attachments

- Statement of Work (Appendix B)
- Projected Financial Support Schedule (Appendix C)

## Application package and source documents

- [LA - 2026 - Rural Clinician Credit Bank Notice of Funding Opportunity](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/api/documents/f9a02d99-7cc1-47be-b749-1855fe143890/file) (primary) — official: https://ldh.la.gov/assets/docs/Secretary/RHTP/Rural-Clinician-Credit-Bank-NOFO.pdf
- [LA - 2026 - RHTP Funding Opportunities (Official LDH RHTP funding opportunities page)](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/api/documents/c1470460-6fd4-474d-9e94-1af65e622fd2/file) — official: https://ldh.la.gov/page/rhtp-funding-opportunities
- [LA - 2026 - LDH RHTP Annual Report for Budget Period 1 (Louisiana RHTP annual report — Rural Clinician Credit Bank)](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/api/documents/e1d8c446-084f-489b-b99e-b267c1d351df/file) — official: https://ldh.la.gov/assets/docs/Secretary/RHTP/AC_Meeting_11.05.2026.pdf

More Louisiana RHTP activity: https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/states/la (markdown: https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/states/la.md)

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Source: Rural Care Journey (RCJ), https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/rural-clinician-credit-bank-recruitment-retention-funding-for-rural-louisiana-pr--d2418aa880 — data as of 2026-09-10.
Cite the RCJ page for the summary and the linked official source for authoritative terms, deadlines, and amounts.