Kentucky

Kentucky's award is approximately $212.9 million in Budget Year 1 under the federal $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program, and the state has confirmed the project is 100% funded by CMS/HHS. The grant spans five budget periods aligned with federal fiscal years (FY2026–FY2030), disbursed annually by CMS based on achievement of performance metrics.

The Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH) administers the state's Rural Health Transformation Program, including its Office of Community Health Workers, which approves the workforce certificates the plan depends on. General inquiries go to ruralhealthplan@ky.gov.

Kentucky's plan is organized into five named program tracks: PoWER (perinatal and infant health), From Crisis to Care (EMS transformation and training), Rapid Response to Recovery (behavioral-health crisis and safety net), Rooted in Health (dental and oral health), and Rural Community Hubs. After procuring services across those tracks in the spring, the state moved to build the non-clinical workforce — community health workers — those services will need to run. Related priorities include vaccine confidence, primary-care extension, and substance-use disorder.

Kentucky RHTP hub →

Named Year-1 allocations from Kentucky's RFAs so far: about $9.9M to establish or expand accredited dental hygiene programs (Rooted in Health), and up to $800,000 for four Community Health Worker specialized certificates ($200,000 each). The From Crisis to Care and Rapid Response to Recovery tracks fund EMS agencies and community mental health centers through additional RFAs. Priorities across the tracks include vaccine confidence, primary-care extension, and substance-use disorder. The full program-by-program breakdown is set out in Kentucky's approved Project Narrative and the six [APPROVED] initiative info sheets.

Kentucky has been procuring in waves through its Request for Applications page. Notable RFAs: Establish or Expand Accredited Dental Hygiene Programs ($9.9M, due May 29); the From Crisis to Care EMS set — Community Paramedicine, EMS Training Equipment/Mobile Units, and EMS Transformation (Treat-No-Transport and Transport to Alternate Destination, Wave 1 closed June 15, with more waves coming); Rapid Response to Recovery's CMHC Support and Telebehavioral Health Support RFAs (due July 3); and the Community Health Worker Specialized Certificates RFA (up to $800K, due August 5). That CHW RFA notably requires content be authored by subject-matter experts and not by AI. The dispatch list below carries the running record.

The live deadline to watch is the Community Health Worker Specialized Certificates RFA: applications are due August 5, 2026, with awards announced August 26 and the funding period opening October 7. KDPH has signaled additional EMS funding waves are coming. Live dates surface first in the dated dispatches below and on the Request for Applications page.

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 Kentucky, RHTP funds flow at the state level through the biennial executive-branch budget (HB500), and the CMS Notice of Award issued December 29, 2025 required Kentucky to submit a Type 6 budget revision — reallocating an "other" category into detailed budget lines and filing a revised Project Narrative, reflected in the state's [APPROVED] info sheets.

Eligibility runs on two tracks. Direct-to-state contracts go out as competitive RFAs, where organizations bid as prime applicants — but note Kentucky often hard-walls eligibility to Kentucky-based non-profits (the CHW certificates RFA, for example, excludes out-of-state organizations even if they currently serve Kentucky). Subgrants and subawards flow to rural providers — hospitals, KBEMS-licensed EMS agencies, community mental health centers, FQHCs and training institutions — where technology vendors and consultants most often engage as subcontractors or implementation partners. A May amendment made for-profit entities eligible as Rural Community Hub Lead Organizations.

Track open opportunities on the Request for Applications page.

Kentucky RHTP funding opportunities →