Improving Rural Access to Care Through Technology
Telehealth expansion, EHR upgrades, cybersecurity, data analytics and emergency communication systems for rural facilities.
RHTP state profile · Idaho
Idaho Rural Health Transformation Program
Idaho received $186.0 million in Year 1 of the $50 billion federal Rural Health Transformation Program, 40th of 50 states. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (DHW) runs the program, which funds five initiatives across Idaho's 37 rural counties, from telehealth and EMS to workforce training and facility upgrades.
Year 1 awards, all 50 statesID: $186.0M
Texas $281.3MNew Jersey $147.3M
$186.0MYear 1 award, 40th of 50
5Funded initiatives
37 / 44Idaho counties are rural
DHWIdaho Department of Health and Welfare
Spending data in the RHTP Year One Report covers December 29, 2025 to July 31, 2026, the latest CMS reporting window.
At a glance
Idaho's program at a glance
The award is fixed for the year. Spending moves every quarter, so Idaho's section of the RHTP Year One Report tracks how much was put to work, and with whom, through July 31, 2026. It updates after each CMS data release.
Year 1 award$185,974,367, 40th of 50 states
Run byIdaho Department of Health and Welfare
Budget Period 1December 29, 2025 to October 30, 2026
Initiatives5
Rural counties37 of 44
Spending data through July 31, 2026Idaho's section of the Year One Report →Initiatives
What does Idaho's RHTP fund?
Idaho's RHTP funds five initiatives across technology, care models, workforce, prevention and infrastructure. Every funding opportunity DHW posts maps to one of these five.
Ensuring Accessible, Quality Care Through Innovative Models
EMS expansion and workforce stabilization, community health EMS and other health extenders, and new ways to bring diagnostics and care closer to patients.
Sustaining Rural Workforce With Training, Recruitment and Retention
Ladder payments for priority rural positions, health career exploration, work-based learning and graduate medical education.
Implementing Population-Specific, Evidence-Based Projects to Make Rural America Healthy Again
Prevention and treatment programs for chronic disease, behavioral health, and maternal and child health.
Investing in Rural Health Infrastructure and Partnerships
Facility renovations, clinical equipment, pharmacy solutions, patient transport vehicles and mobile units, plus a 3.5% set-aside for Idaho's five federally recognized Tribes.
Recipients by initiative are in Idaho's section of the RHTP Year One Report.
Source documents
Idaho's full plan is public
The approved plan has more detail than any summary: goals, partners, metrics and timelines for each initiative. Read it before responding to an Idaho funding opportunity.
PDFDHWIdaho RHT Program Project NarrativeThe full plan from DHW, including all five initiatives and the state policies Idaho cited.PDFDHWIdaho RHT Program Project SummaryDHW's short summary of the plan.PDFDHWIdaho RHT Program Annual Report, Year 1DHW's first annual report to CMS, from August 2026, covering policy actions, uses of funds and progress.PDFCMSCMS 50-State SpotlightsCMS's short profile of each state's program, including Idaho's.PDFCMSCMS State Project AbstractsEach state's own summary, side by side.
Rural county (37)Urban county (7)
Eligibility
Which Idaho counties are eligible for RHTP funding?
Idaho's plan classifies 37 of the state's 44 counties as rural, using the federal Office of Rural Health Policy definition, and 16 of those 37 are frontier counties with fewer than six people per square mile. Six of the seven urban counties also include rural census tracts, and the plan's target population is the 655,070 Idahoans, 36% of the state, who live in rural census tracts. Each solicitation states its own geographic requirements.
View DHW's list of eligible rural areas →How to apply
How can Idaho providers apply for RHTP funding?
Idaho providers and vendors apply through DHW subgrant opportunities and requests for proposals, posted on its Funding Opportunities for Rural Health Transformation page, with some RFPs run through Luma, the state's procurement system. All Year 1 opportunities have closed, and Year 2 dates have not been announced. Providers and vendors don't apply to CMS directly.
- Match the work to an initiative.Funding only goes to work that fits one of the five.
- Watch for new rounds.Check DHW's Funding Opportunities page, and read its quick start guides for RFPs and subgrants before the next round opens.
- Register as a vendor.State RFPs post in Luma, Idaho's procurement system. SAM.gov registration is standard for federally funded grants and contracts.
- Plan for federal rules.Grant recipients follow federal grant, reporting and audit rules. A Single Audit applies at $1 million or more in federal spending a year.
- Ask DHW directly.Email IdahoRHTP@dhw.idaho.gov.
Federal terms
Four rules that shape every award
Federal terms follow the money down to every Idaho recipient.
Grants and contracts carry different obligations
A subaward makes your organization a subrecipient that carries out part of the program, with federal reporting and audit requirements. A contract pays for goods or services, with lighter requirements.
New rounds follow CMS budget approval
States can't post funding opportunities until CMS approves their budget, so windows can open months into a budget period.
Workforce incentives need a rural commitment
Recruitment and retention payments require clinicians to commit to serving rural communities for at least five years.
Recipients must disclose the federal funding
Under the Stevens Amendment, websites, social posts and other public materials about a funded project must name the federal funding.
Allowable costs
What can Idaho's RHTP funding pay for?
Idaho's RHTP funding can pay for work on existing facilities, uncovered care, technology and administration, within federal caps on each use. Applied to Idaho's Year 1 award, the maximums are:
Capital and infrastructure20% of award
About $37.2M
Provider payments15% of award
About $27.9M
Administrative costs10% of award
About $18.6M
Rural Tech Catalyst Fund10% or $20M, whichever is less
About $18.6M
Replacing an existing EMR system5% of award
About $9.3M
Provider payments and capital
Provider payments cover services insurance doesn't pay for, quality bonuses and outcome-based payments tied to Idaho's plan. They can't raise rates for services providers already bill.
Capital funds go to existing facilities: renovations, accessibility upgrades, HVAC and like-for-like equipment replacement.
Off limits
- New construction, demolition and major expansions
- Cosmetic work such as painting, carpet or decor
- Clinician salaries at facilities that use non-compete clauses
- Home broadband installation and service
- Costs already covered by other federal or state funding
Policy commitments
Idaho's policy commitments carry deadlines
Idaho's application cited seven state policies already in place or planned, and CMS lists no new state policy commitments for Idaho. Four are done. CMS can reduce or recover funding when promised policy actions don't happen.
SNAP candy and soda restriction
Ban candy and soda purchases with SNAP benefits
House Bill 109 passed in 2025; USDA approved Idaho's waiver, with a February 15, 2026 startNo certificate of need
Keep Idaho free of certificate of need requirements
Idaho has no certificate of need programShort-term health plans
Allow short-term plans as defined under federal rules, with no added state limits
Existing Idaho law and rulesRemote care services
Keep telehealth payment parity and remote monitoring coverage
Idaho Virtual Care Access Act and Medicaid coverage already in placePresidential Fitness Test
Develop materials encouraging schools, especially rural ones, to bring back the Presidential Fitness Test
Physician assistant licensure compact
Bring legislation to join the multistate physician assistant compact
Scope of practice
Expand scope of practice for physician assistants and dental hygienists by law
House Bills 805 and 806 introduced March 2026; no action past committeeIdaho already belongs to the physician, nurse, EMS and psychology licensure compacts.
Years 2 to 5
$40B
Future awards depend on progress
Year 1 is not a guaranteed annual amount. CMS plans up to $40 billion more nationwide through 2030 and rescores every state each year on progress, data and policy actions.
Unobligated money leaves the state
Funds not obligated by the end of a budget period can't be obligated later and are redistributed to other states.
Funds can be clawed back
CMS can withhold, reduce or recover money for unallowable costs, unapproved plan changes or missed policy commitments. States get 90 days to fix a violation, and most decisions can't be appealed.
Oversight is growing
CMS's Office of Rural Health Transformation plans site visits in all 50 states in 2026. Audits start in 2027.
Method
Reading Idaho's spending data
Use the numbers in Idaho's section of the RHTP Year One Report to understand direction and pace, not as an audit.
Put to work is not paid out
Obligated money is signed to a contract or grant. Cash reaches recipients later.
Through July 31, 2026 only
The data covers December 29, 2025 to July 31, 2026, as Idaho reported it to CMS. Commitments made after July 31, 2026 are not counted yet.
Recipients sit inside line items
The CMS report has no recipient column. Search Idaho's line item descriptions by name.
Quarterly refresh
CMS updates the data after each quarterly state report, starting with the November 30, 2026 filing.
Announcements
Major Idaho announcements
DHW announces more than 100 Year 1 subgrants totaling about $180 million, including $97.2 million for healthcare infrastructure, $14.9 million for Next Generation 911 and $8 million for graduate medical education.
DHW opens about $97 million in Healthcare Infrastructure Support funding for rural providers, covering renovations, equipment, technology, vehicles and cybersecurity.
DHW posts its first round of RHTP funding opportunities, starting with project management support and two maternal health programs.
Governor Little signs Senate Bill 1453, approving Idaho's RHTP spending and creating a legislative oversight committee.
Awards announced after July 31, 2026 are not in the CMS spending data yet. They will appear after the next CMS refresh.
Timeline
Key dates
- Dec 29, 2025Year 1 award; Budget Period 1 begins
- Apr 10, 2026Senate Bill 1453 signed, approving Year 1 spending
- Jul 31, 2026End of the first CMS reporting window; Year One Report spending data runs through this date
- Oct 30, 2026Budget Period 1 ends; all Year 1 funds obligated
- Nov 30, 2026Quarterly reports due; CMS refreshes funding data
- Dec 31, 2027Presidential Fitness Test materials deadline
- 2030Final year of the five-year program
Implications
What this means
For rural hospitals
Healthcare Infrastructure Support was Idaho's largest Year 1 category at $97.2 million, covering renovations, equipment, technology, vehicles and cybersecurity, and Gritman Medical Center in Moscow alone received $11.6 million. DHW has encouraged providers that missed Year 1 to apply in later years, so watch for the next round.
For partners and vendors
Idaho routed large Year 1 awards through state partners, including the Idaho Military Division for Next Generation 911 and EMS and the State Board of Education for graduate medical education and workforce programs. DHW also bought technology assessment, data analytics, cybersecurity assessment and project management services through state RFPs and cooperative contracts. Partnering with those state partners and watching Luma are the main routes in.
For applicants and grantees
Build tracking for the measures Idaho reports to CMS before an award lands. Subrecipients can't opt out of reporting, and their results feed Idaho's annual rescoring. A legislative committee also reviews DHW's subawards each month, and lawmakers have asked for sustainability plans so projects can run after the five years end.
FAQ
Idaho RHTP FAQs
Who runs Idaho's Rural Health Transformation Program?
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (DHW) runs Idaho's Rural Health Transformation Program, using federal funding from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). DHW manages the state's plan, posts funding opportunities and answers questions at IdahoRHTP@dhw.idaho.gov. The program is Idaho's share of the $50 billion federal Rural Health Transformation Program.
How much RHTP funding did Idaho receive?
Idaho received $185,974,367 for Year 1 of the Rural Health Transformation Program, 40th of 50 states. Every state got $100 million in baseline funding, and the rest of Idaho's award was based on its rural needs, its policy commitments and the strength of its plan. Later years depend on Idaho's progress.
Can Idaho RHTP funding pay for construction?
No. RHTP funds can't pay for new construction, demolition or major expansions. Up to 20% of Idaho's award each year, about $37.2 million in Year 1, can go to work on existing facilities, such as renovations, accessibility upgrades, HVAC replacement and like-for-like equipment replacement.
Can Idaho providers use RHTP funding to pay for patient care?
Only for care that insurance doesn't already pay for. Provider payments can cover nonreimbursed services, quality bonuses and outcome-based payments tied to Idaho's plan, up to 15% of the award each year, about $27.9 million in Year 1. They can't raise rates for services providers already bill.
Where can I see how Idaho is spending its RHTP funding?
The RHTP Year One Report tracks how much of Idaho's award was put to work through July 31, 2026, by initiative and recipient, using state-reported data from CMS, and is updated after each CMS data release. DHW also posts its own list of Year 1 awardees, which includes the more than 100 subgrants announced in October 2026.
The Alliance
RHT Alliance members serving Idaho
These RHT Alliance members serve Idaho providers, with support that spans EHR and billing, virtual nursing, virtual care, remote monitoring, health data, diagnostics, patient education and grant writing.
Azalea HealthCloud EHR and billing with AI-assisted charting for rural hospitals and clinics.
CorstrataTelehealth access to board-certified wound, ostomy and continence nurses.
Equum MedicalTelehealth-enabled physician coverage across specialties.
Health Recovery SolutionsRemote patient monitoring and care management at home.
InterSystemsHealth data platforms and interoperability.
Medical Equipment SourceDigital pathology, mobile labs and lab equipment services.
Rural Health Transformation Funding NetworkGrant writing support for RHTP funding opportunities.
Self Care DecisionsEvidence-based triage that directs patients to the right level of care.
Solid StartsInfant feeding guidance and education for families, built by pediatric feeding specialists.
Teledentistry.com24/7 virtual dental evaluations and emergency triage.
VitalChatVirtual nursing and continuous audio and video care across hospitals.
WebMD IgniteMedically reviewed patient education and outreach, including its HEART rural program.Follow Idaho's money as it moves
The RHTP Year One Report tracks obligations, initiatives and recipients for all 50 states after each CMS data release.