# Nebraska — Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP)

The Nebraska Rural Health Transformation Program remains in its initial implementation phase, deploying statewide initiatives slated to launch in Spring 2026 with rolling annual funding opportunities for rural providers. Major focus areas continue to be food as medicine, emergency and behavioral health, workforce acceleration, eHealth, and facility modernization, under direct oversight by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and active guidance from established Health Care Advisory Regions. The program maintains emphasis on technology-enabled solutions, regional care coordination, and targeted workforce and access enhancements. Current structured plan tracks 7 key initiatives and 24 strategic goals.

## At a glance

- Federal awards to date: $437,776,850.43 (Year 1 $218.5M + Year 2 $219.2M)
- Implementation phase (RCJ): IMPLEMENTING
- Funding opportunities tracked: 19 (1 open or announced, 18 closed)
- Awards recorded: $41.6M to 68 recipients
- Critical Access Hospitals: 75
- Rural population share: 37%

## Current progress

Nebraska has opened RFAs for the Rural Health Transformation Program and issued applicant guidance and budget instructions, but no awards have been made yet. Applications are due October 26, 2026, and multiple funding opportunities are posted with detailed parameters. The state is currently in an active application and review phase, and procurement rounds remain open. Award decisions and subrecipient selections are still pending. State opportunities: 1 active (1 open, 16 past/closed), $10.5M listed funding. Key opportunities: Critical Access Hospitals to Rural Emergency Hospitals Conversion Grants; Nebraska RHTP Initiative 5.3: Modification of Existing Clinical Facilities for Mental Health Crisis; Rural Virtual Reality and Skills Acceleration Network. Strategy alignment: supports telehealth, care access, workforce priorities.

## CMS published status (State Data Maps)

- State Policy Action commitments: 2 of 19
- Initiatives (7), current CMS stage of each:
  - Assisted Living Facility (ALF) Special Needs Population Incentive Model — Stage 2
  - eHealth and Mobile — Stage 2
  - Make Rural Nebraska Healthy Again Through Food as Medicine — Stage 2
  - Nebraska Rural Health Technology Catalyst Fund and Partnership Initiative (NETECH) — Stage 2
  - Regionalized Rural Access and Navigation — Stage 2
  - Rural Emergency Behavioral Health — Stage 2
  - Rural Workforce Acceleration — Stage 2
- CMS data captured 2026-11-11, last confirmed 2026-11-11

## Open and announced opportunities

- [Critical Access Hospitals to Rural Emergency Hospitals Conversion Grants](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/critical-access-hospitals-to-rural-emergency-hospitals-conversion-grants--23255c9905) — RFA; Open; due 2027-07-31

## Closed opportunities (18, most recent first)

- [Nebraska Rural Health Technology Catalyst Fund (NETECH) — Cohort 1](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/nebraska-rural-health-technology-catalyst-fund-netech-cohort-1--5dc9d1c210) — GRANT; Closed; due 2026-11-09; $250,000 – $1.0M
- [Nebraska RHTP 1.1: School Kitchen Modernization Grants](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/nebraska-rhtp-1-1-school-kitchen-modernization-grants--0865f39623) — RFA; Closed; due 2026-09-01; $10,000
- [Nebraska RHTP Initiative 5.3: Modification of Existing Clinical Facilities for Mental Health Crisis](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/nebraska-rhtp-initiative-5-3-modification-of-existing-clinical-facilities-for-me--17ad16676f) — RFA; Closed; due 2026-08-31; $5.5M
- [Nebraska Department of Education RHTP Initiative 1.3 Request for Application: Farm-to-School Procurement and Policy Technical Assistance](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/nebraska-department-of-education-rhtp-initiative-1-3-request-for-application-far--2e6a4494e4) — RFA; Closed; due 2026-08-31; $10,000 – $150,000
- [Rural Virtual Reality and Skills Acceleration Network](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/rural-virtual-reality-and-skills-acceleration-network--0ef19f2d72) — RFA; Closed; due 2026-07-24; $3.0M
- [NE - 2026 - Assisted Living Facility Modernization Grant](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/ne-2026-assisted-living-facility-modernization-grant--c3661d237c) — GRANT; Closed; due 2026-06-30; $500,000
- [RHTP 4.4b Remote Patient Monitoring Implementation Initiative](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/rhtp-4-4b-remote-patient-monitoring-implementation-initiative--8bc533462e) — RFA; Closed; due 2026-06-12
- [Rural Health Care Workforce Incentive and Sustainability Model – SNAP E&T Third-Party Partner Capacity-Building Grants](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/rural-health-care-workforce-incentive-and-sustainability-model-snap-e-t-third-pa--c0afc12866) — RFA; Closed; due 2026-06-01; $200,000
- [Nebraska RHTP 4.2b: Healthcare-Associated Infection (HAI) Prevention](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/nebraska-rhtp-4-2b-healthcare-associated-infection-hai-prevention--1291c0da9e) — RFA; Closed; due 2026-05-09
- [Make Rural Nebraska Healthy Again Through Food as Medicine](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/make-rural-nebraska-healthy-again-through-food-as-medicine--55b42c4084) — RFA; Closed; due 2026-04-22; $20,000
- [Nebraska RHTP 4.4a: Community Health Worker (CHW) Training and Support](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/nebraska-rhtp-4-4a-community-health-worker-chw-training-and-support--61652b00de) — RFA; Closed; due 2026-04-11
- [Regional Food Pantry Development](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/regional-food-pantry-development--175830a869) — RFA; Closed; due 2026-04-08
- [Nebraska Kids Fitness & Nutrition Targeted RFA](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/nebraska-kids-fitness-nutrition-targeted-rfa--5712d777cd) — RFA; Closed; due 2026-04-03; $20,000 – $100,000
- [Nebraska RHTP Initiative 4.4a: Chronic Disease Management Navigation and Education Initiative](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/nebraska-rhtp-initiative-4-4a-chronic-disease-management-navigation-and-educatio--a623907046) — RFA; Closed; due 2026-03-27
- [Rural Jurisdictional Stockpiles](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/rural-jurisdictional-stockpiles--47660663d4) — RFA; Closed; due 2026-02-10
- [Community Health Worker Networks - Phase 1](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/community-health-worker-networks-phase-1--d7fd2713ba) — RFA; Closed; due 2026-01-20
- [Nebraska Federal RHTP Award: Year 1 (FY 2026)](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/nebraska-federal-rhtp-award-year-1-fy-2026--dced31a4f6) — AWARD; Closed; $218.5M
- [Nebraska Federal RHTP Award: Year 2 (FY 2027)](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/nebraska-federal-rhtp-award-year-2-fy-2027--e39ad105b8) — AWARD; Closed; $219.2M

## Largest recorded awards

- Nebraska High Value Network — $18.2M (FY2026)
- Lutheran Family Service of Nebraska Inc — $2.4M (FY2026)
- Antelope Memorial Hospital — $1.1M (FY2026)
- The Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital Association DBA Mary Lanning Memorial Healthcare — $1.0M (FY2026)
- CHI St. Mary’s — $908,476 (FY2026)
- Pawnee County Memorial Hospital — $819,689 (FY2026)
- Regional West Medical Center — $736,148 (FY2026)
- CHI Health Schuyler — $711,630 (FY2026)
- Faith Health — $578,674 (FY2026)
- Methodist Fremont Health — $460,461 (FY2026)
- Mary Lanning Healthcare — $460,239 (FY2026)
- Jefferson Community Health & Life — $446,741 (FY2026)
- CHI Good Samaritan/CHI St. Francis — $430,602 (FY2026)
- Valley Hope Association DBA Valley Hope of O’Neill — $418,047 (FY2026)
- Winnebago Comprehensive Healthcare System — $414,694 (FY2026)

## Official sources RCJ monitors

- [NE RHTP Primary](https://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Rural-Health-Transformation.aspx)
- [NE DHHS Grant Opportunities — RHTP](https://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Grant-Opportunities.aspx#SectionLink1)

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Source: Rural Care Journey (RCJ), https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/states/ne — data as of 2026-11-11.
Cite the RCJ page for the summary and the linked official source for authoritative terms, deadlines, and amounts.