Hawaii

Hawaii Department of Health awarded $17 million to Hawaii Primary Care Association for statewide FQHC support under RHTP 2026-2027. The program focuses on health IT modernization, analytics, interoperability, transformation, and training to enhance value-based care readiness. Event schedule: - Notice of Award Date - 08/28/2026 - Contract Period Start - 10/30/2026 - Contract Period End - 07/31/2027

Hawai‘i received a $58 million federal award under the Rural Health Transformation Program for 2026 to enhance rural healthcare. Funding supports workforce development through HOME RUN and EMS improvements including ambulances and emergency communications upgrades statewide.

The program has a $188.9M budget for the first period and focuses on six core initiatives including telehealth, rural infrastructure, workforce pipeline, respite care, and value-based innovation. It targets neighbor islands and rural parts of Oʻahu to address healthcare access barriers caused by long travel distances and workforce shortages. Implementation is currently in planning with upcoming formal funding opportunities to be released.

The plan addresses healthcare disparities in Hawaiʻi’s rural areas, which comprise 40.8% of the population, by implementing a statewide digital health network, telehealth expansion, emergency service improvements, workforce training programs, medical respite centers, and value-based care readiness. The five-year program runs through 2030, contingent on federal approval and performance, with continued funding anticipated annually.

Hawaii received a $12M federal award to implement AHEAD program initiatives through 2029. State-level requirements include new Medicaid policies, expanded telehealth, and workforce reforms. Cooperative agreement performance milestones are defined for policy selection, enactment, and implementation.

This document outlines the design priorities and standards for the Hawai`i AHEAD Medicaid Advanced Primary Care Payment Model (APM) framework. It reviews requirements for medical home models, care coordination, health promotion, behavioral health integration, specialty care, and payment approaches for the Medicaid population. The framework emphasizes alignment with hospital global budgets, operational simplicity, and improving population health through primary care transformation. Event schedule: - Framework Discussion Meeting - 03/25/2026 - HT

This document summarizes changes from version 2.0 to 3.0 of the AHEAD Medicare Hospital Global Budget payment methodology for Hawaii. It discusses revisions to baseline calculations, hospital payments, social risk adjustment, and incentives. The summary primarily illustrates anticipated impacts for rural and critical access hospitals under the new 2025 CMS methodology.

This strategy document outlines a Medicaid Primary Care Advanced Payment Model (APM) intended to strengthen primary care, improve quality, and align payment with outcomes for rural and underserved populations in Hawaii. It includes analysis of current Medicaid utilization, payment attribution models, tiered participation requirements, and behavioral health integration. No explicit award or fiscal amounts are detailed.

The Hawai‘i AHEAD Primary Care Working Group is advancing stakeholder engagement and developing methodologies for improving primary care quality and cost management. The project has a strong timeline through 2027 with landmark submissions and contract executions to support implementation and recruitment.

Hawaii's Med-QUEST Division plans a transition to mandatory Medicaid Hospital Global Budgets, aligning incentives between hospitals and primary care through Pay-for-Performance and global budget payments. The total estimated statewide payments for 2025 are $1.1B, with $100M allocated for quality improvement P4P. Historical modeling shows most hospitals benefit from the new approach, especially during high trend years.

Hawai‘i AHEAD continues active engagement with stakeholders to develop the Hospital Global Budget and primary care methodologies. The program is supported by a $12 million CMS award and includes milestones through 2025 leading to a performance year starting in 2027. Collaborative efforts involve key partners such as Healthcare Association of Hawai‘i and the Hawai‘i Primary Care Association.

Kula Hospital is proposing an expansion to achieve CAH status by adding emergency services and reconfiguring beds. The project is locally debt-financed with no explicit federal subaward cited, but is designed to qualify for future cost-based Medicare (and potentially Medicaid) reimbursement. This will improve financial viability and enable better urgent care access for the rural Maui community.

This editorial highlights the importance of using federal funds to narrow health care gaps for rural residents in Hawaii through the RHTP. It emphasizes quality care closer to home as a key goal.

Agenda for the Hawai’i AHEAD Steering Committee meeting, including a presentation on the Rural Health Transformation Program and general updates. No specific funding or award details provided.

The program addresses healthcare disparities for the 40.8% of Hawaiʻi’s population living in rural areas by investing in a statewide digital health network, telehealth, emergency services, workforce development, medical respite centers, and value-based care innovation. The award is notable for being among the highest per capita and per rural resident due to the program’s quality despite lower data-driven metrics.