The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) has issued six Requests for Applications (RFAs) under the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), representing a significant investment in rural health infrastructure, workforce, and care delivery transformation. Funded through a federal cooperative agreement with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), these opportunities span multiple strategic domains, including access, workforce capacity, technology innovation, and quality outcomes.

All applications are due June 10, 2026. Year 1 funding covers August 1, 2026 (or date of execution) through July 30, 2027.

Workforce Development (RFA 037-25/26)

Strategic Domain: Workforce and Capacity
Year 1 Funding: $12,683,313

This standalone initiative targets one of rural Florida’s most pressing challenges — workforce shortages. The program is structured across two distinct pathways:

• Pathway 1: Clinical Training Investment Opportunity (CTIO) (~$6.34M) — Focuses on expanding clinical training pipelines through supervised rotations, preceptorships, and rural placement opportunities across disciplines.
• Pathway 2: High School and College Pathways (~$6.34M) — Builds long-term workforce pipelines through Career and Technical Education (CTE), dual enrollment, and partnerships between schools and rural providers, with priority consideration for educational institutions.

Specialty and Acute Care Bundle (RFA 034-25/26)

Strategic Domain: Technology Innovation | Sustainable Access | Quality and Outcomes
Year 1 Funding: $69,630,531 (statewide)

This bundled RFA is designed to expand specialty and acute care capacity in rural settings through technology and telehealth integration.

Required Core Components:

• Florida Health Information Exchange (HIE)/Event Notification System (ENS) onboarding — $2.5M
• Diagnostics technology support — $9.13M

Elective Telehealth Initiatives (at least one required):

• Behavioral health telehealth and telehub psychiatry — $18M
• Tele-imaging/virtual specialty clinics — $16M
• Tele-ICU (eICU) — $14M
• Telestroke (hub-and-spoke) — $10M

Health and Lifestyle: Nutrition and Prevention (RFA 038-25/26)

Strategic Domain: Quality and Outcomes | Prevention and Chronic Disease Reduction
Year 1 Funding: $10,130,531

This initiative focuses on reducing food insecurity and preventable chronic disease in rural communities. Investments support clinical, community, and school-based interventions aimed at improving nutrition and long-term health outcomes, with a statewide goal of reducing preventable hospitalizations.

Value-Based Purchasing (RFA 035-25/26)

Strategic Domain: Innovative Care | Quality and Outcomes
Year 1 Funding: $10,000,000

This initiative supports rural providers transitioning from fee-for-service to value-based care models. Funding is limited to infrastructure development and includes:

• Contracting and financial modeling capabilities
• Population health and analytics platforms
• Care coordination staffing and systems
• Interoperability and HIE integration

Funds may not be used for direct clinical services and are restricted to building value-based purchasing readiness and capacity.

Rural and Satellite Clinics (RFA 036-25/26)

Strategic Domain: Access | Sustainable Access to Care
Year 1 Funding: $25,000,000

This startup-focused initiative provides capital to establish or expand rural clinics and satellite sites across Florida’s 31 rural counties. Funding supports early-stage operations, workforce development, health information technology integration, and limited facility improvements to expand access to primary and preventive care.

Preventive Care and Care-at-Home Bundle (RFA 033-25/26)

Strategic Domain: Sustainable Access | Technology Innovation
Year 1 Funding: $60,500,000 (statewide)

This fully integrated bundle requires participation in all five components, creating a coordinated continuum of community-based and in-home care:

• Mobile health units — $20M
• Community paramedicine/mobile integrated health — $18M
• Remote patient telemonitoring — $14M
• On-site pharmacy/retail clinics — $6M
• Florida HIE/ENS onboarding — $2.5M

Together, these initiatives are designed to identify patients in the community, extend care into the home, and connect services through shared data infrastructure.

Bottom Line for Providers

These RFAs represent a significant, multi-year investment in transforming rural health care delivery in Florida, with a clear emphasis on workforce development, technology-enabled care, and value-based infrastructure.

For home health and home-based care providers, opportunities are particularly strong in workforce pipeline development, care-at-home models, telehealth expansion, and value-based care readiness. Strategic partnerships — especially with hospitals, educational institutions, and community organizations — will be critical to successful applications.