Connecticut

Connecticut's Year 1 award is $154,249,105.53 from CMS under Notice of Award RHTCMS332073, its share of the federal $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program. The program is a five-year CMS cooperative agreement, and Connecticut's grants are renewable for up to five years pending CMS continuation funding.

The Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS) is the lead agency, operating a new Division of Rural Health Transformation, with Daniel Sinclair confirmed as Project Director per CMS's April 16 revised Notice of Award. General questions route to RHTP-Questions@ct.gov. The first NOFO was issued by the Office of Health Strategy (OHS) — though, per Public Act 26-68 (effective July 1, 2026), OHS is being dissolved and its functions absorbed into the Office of Policy and Management (OPM), which the NOFO names as successor Grantor.

Connecticut's plan encompasses 30-plus named projects across 11 state agencies, organized into four initiatives: Population Health Outcomes, Workforce, Data & Technology, and Care Transformation & Stability. The last bucket is the largest, absorbing $85.6 million in Year 1, and includes rural hospital right-sizing grants anticipated for Charlotte-Hungerford, Day Kimball, Sharon and Windham hospitals. AHEAD Model Readiness and Health Equity Data are core project tags.

The single biggest Year 1 concentration is Care Transformation & Stability at $85.6 million, anchored by rural hospital right-sizing grants for Charlotte-Hungerford, Day Kimball, Sharon and Windham hospitals. The remainder is spread across the Population Health Outcomes, Workforce, and Data & Technology initiatives — including the first funded project, AI-enabled remote patient monitoring and care coordination. The full breakdown of the 30-plus projects across 11 agencies is set out in Connecticut's project and budget narratives.

Connecticut's first live procurement is the OHS Health Care Coordination and Remote Patient Monitoring Using Artificial Intelligence NOFO (#26OHS001), posted May 22, 2026 — a $1.8 million Year 1 solicitation for AI-enabled remote patient monitoring and care coordination, with applications due July 7, 2026. Awards range from $100,000 to $1,000,000, with up to five grants in Year 1, renewable for up to five years pending CMS continuation funding. Every funded project must integrate bidirectionally with Connie, the state's health information exchange. Every dated dispatch covering Connecticut is listed below, newest first.

The AI/remote-patient-monitoring NOFO (#26OHS001) set applications due July 7, 2026. Because most published dates are now past and the issuing agency is mid-transition (OHS to OPM, effective July 1, 2026), upcoming deadlines and new solicitations surface first in the dated dispatches below and on the DSS RHTP hub.

The Rural Health Transformation Program was created by Section 71401 of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (2025) and is administered federally by CMS. In Connecticut, the award is administered through DSS under CMS Notice of Award RHTCMS332073, via a new Division of Rural Health Transformation. A state-specific action shapes the administrative landscape: Public Act 26-68 (effective July 1, 2026) dissolves the Office of Health Strategy and transfers its functions to the Office of Policy and Management, which is named successor Grantor on the first NOFO.

Eligibility runs on two tracks. Direct-to-state contracts go out as competitive NOFOs, where firms bid as prime contractors. For the first NOFO, however, eligibility is limited to Connecticut-licensed providers — hospitals, FQHCs, behavioral health providers, EMS, pharmacists, oral health, maternity programs, municipal health agencies, academic medical centers, multi-entity consortia, and federally recognized Tribes — with technology vendors restricted to subcontractor roles. That is the clearest possible signal of the two-track model: rural providers apply for the subawards, and vendors and consultants engage as subcontractors or implementation partners underneath them. Every funded project must integrate bidirectionally with the state HIE, Connie.

Track opportunities on the DSS RHTP hub and the OHS NOFO page, and sign up for program updates.

Connecticut DSS Rural Health Transformation Program →