CMS now publishes two state-level RHTP datasets: the State Data Maps (exact awards, initiative stages, policy commitments) and, since October 21, 2026, a 58-page deck of Planned State Initiatives for Budget Period 1. We checked every figure in both against RCJ's tracking. This report covers what differs, what RCJ has corrected, and where planned work hasn't yet turned into a solicitation.
Rural Care Journey · Status as of October 24, 2026
CMS source · Oct 21, 2026
Planned State Initiatives, Budget Period 1 ↗
43 focus areas and 176 subtopics, each with its states, a spotlight and a map.
CMS source · updated weekly
RHTP State Data Maps ↗
Exact awards, 322 initiatives with Stage 0–5 status, and 19 State Policy Action commitments per state.
13 of 43
CMS focus areas whose totals don't match their own state lists
7
RCJ discrepancies corrected
0 of 322
CMS initiatives past Stage 2
723 of 1,553
Planned state focus areas with no solicitation yet
CMS vs RCJ
CMS vs CMS
Each focus area gives a headline state count, a shaded US map and subtopic lists naming the states. On 30 focus areas all three agree. On the rest they don't, by one to three states. Use the named states, not the headline totals.
| Focus area | Total | Map | Named | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physical Activity | 30 | 33 | 33 | Total is 3 below both the map and the lists |
| CCBHCs | 27 | 27 | 29 | CT and MD are named in subtopics but not shaded |
| Early Career / High School Programs | 43 | 43 | 44 | DE is shaded but named nowhere; CO and CT are named but not shaded |
| Healthy Eating and Farming | 33 | 31 | 31 | NM is shaded but named nowhere; HI is named but not shaded |
| Community Paramedicine / Treat-in-Place | 41 | 40 | 39 | MA is shaded but named nowhere |
| EMS Modernization | 48 | 48 | 47 | AZ is shaded but named nowhere |
| Aging-in-Place / Home Visiting | 17 | 18 | 18 | Total is 1 below both |
| Tribal Health & Engagement | 26 | 25 | 25 | Total is 1 above both |
| Alternative Payment Models | 39 | 38 | 38 | Total is 1 above both |
| Clinically Integrated Networks / Regionalized Care | 45 | 44 | 44 | Total is 1 above both |
| Mobile Health | 48 | 47 | 47 | Total is 1 above both |
| HIE Connectivity / Data Sharing | 48 | 47 | 47 | Total is 1 above both |
| Upstream Drivers of Health | 47 | 46 | 46 | Total is 1 above both |
Also: four subtopic counts on the deck's summary pages differ from its detail pages (Tribal-Specific Programs 8 vs 7, VA–Rural Provider Integration 5 vs 4, Clinical Training 22 vs 23, Allied Health 18 vs 17; the detail pages name the states), and Wisconsin's chronic disease spotlight misnames the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality.
| Discrepancy | Correction in RCJ |
|---|---|
| 4 states (MS, ND, VT, WV) labeled “Scaling” while CMS shows no initiative past Stage 2 | Moved to “Implementing”; phase refreshes now cap at what CMS's stages support |
| RCJ carried 69 of CMS's 322 official initiative names; 25 states matched none | All 50 states now list CMS's 322 initiatives as their official list, with state-narrative detail kept as supporting activities |
| State awards were rounded to the nearest $1M (up to $490,641 off) | Exact CMS Budget Period 1 figures, to the cent, with a CMS citation on every state page |
| No State Policy Action commitments or initiative stages anywhere in RCJ | New CMS-reported status card on every state page (stages, 19 policy commitments), CMS columns in Compare, a cms block in the public API, and CMS changes in the daily brief |
| Massachusetts Rural Digital Health Sandbox (CMS: Tech Catalyst Fund) missing from RCJ | Added as an upcoming RHTP opportunity with its program page and three application templates |
| Kentucky's STARS and Regional Medical Operations Coordination Centers missing from RCJ | Added the Kentucky legislature's CMS-approved RHTP overview (June 3, 2026) that describes both |
| 13 document titles carried another state's code or unreadable text (e.g. Florida's budget narrative titled “MI - 2026”) | Retitled |
See any state's CMS-reported status, or rank states by CMS stage and policy commitments on Compare.
All 43 focus areas
For each focus area, the states CMS lists, split by whether RCJ has tracked a matching RHTP solicitation. Amber is planned work with no solicitation yet: the likeliest places for new ones.
Watch list
| Focus area | No solicitation yet | States |
|---|---|---|
| Infectious DiseaseDisease Prevention & Care | 10 of 10 | AK AZ DE HI MT ND NE NJ TN WA |
| PACEPayment & Service Models | 8 of 9 | CT KS LA MI ND OK PA RI |
| CCBHCsPayment & Service Models | 23 of 27 | AK CA CO FL GA HI IL IN KS KY LA ME MI MS NC ND NE NM NY OK OR WA WI |
| Veterans’ HealthPopulation Health | 5 of 6 | AL MI NE TX WI |
| Place-Based CareAccessible Care | 25 of 31 | AK AR CO FL HI IL LA MA MD ME MN NC NE NH NM OR RI SC TN UT VA VT WI WV WY |
| Patient Engagement PlatformsTechnology | 31 of 39 | AK AR CA CO CT DE FL HI ID IL KS KY LA MA MI MS NC ND NE NH NM NV OK OR PA SC SD UT WA WI WV |
| Aging-in-Place / Home VisitingPayment & Service Models | 14 of 18 | AK CT DE MI MN NC ND NE NH OK OR PA RI WA |
| Physical ActivityHealth Promotion | 24 of 33 | AK AL AZ CT DE HI IL IN KS KY LA MI MN MS NC NH NM OR PA SC TN TX UT VA |
| AI ToolsTechnology | 28 of 40 | AK AR DE FL HI IA ID IL KY LA MA MD ME MI MN MO NH NM NY OK OR PA SD TN UT WA WI WV |
| Cancer Prevention & TreatmentDisease Prevention & Care | 16 of 23 | AK AZ DE FL HI IN KS MN NC NM NV NY PA RI SD UT |
| CybersecurityTechnology | 24 of 35 | AK AR AZ CA CO DE FL GA IL IN LA MA ME MN MO NM NY OK OR TX UT WA WI WV |
| Upstream Drivers of HealthHealth Promotion | 31 of 46 | AK AL AR AZ CA CT DE HI IA IL IN KY LA MA MI MN MO MT NE NM NY OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TX WA WI |
Announced, not yet open
Including Massachusetts's Rural Digital Health Sandbox ↗: grants up to $475,000 for digital health companies, launched October 2026, with its notice of funding opportunity “coming soon”.
Deadlines
The full, live list is on Opportunities.
Method. The deck's focus-area state lists come from its shaded maps, read from the PDF's vector shapes; they match the deck's subtopic lists exactly on all 30 focus areas where the two must agree. “Solicitation” means an approved, RHTP-funded RFA, RFP, NOFO or grant in RCJ, matched to a focus area by keywords in its title and summary. Broad solicitations that cover several areas under one name may not match every area they fund, so read the watch list as where to look, not as confirmed absences. CMS stage data is from the State Data Maps as captured October 23, 2026; RCJ data is as of October 24, 2026.