Dear Public Laboratory Informatics Community:
We wanted to reach out to members to ensure that you are aware of a notice of funding opportunity that was released in September. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has established the Rural Health Transformation (RHT) Program, a $50 billion initiative over five budget periods designed to help States transform healthcare delivery in rural communities through sustainable care, strategic partnerships, infrastructure development, workforce investment, and tech innovation.
Only State governments are eligible; CMS will accept one application per State government. Each approved State will receive baseline funding (approximately $500 million per State if all 50 States are approved) plus additional workload funding based on application quality and rural factors. The current submission deadline is November 5, 2025.
Why This Matters for Public Health Laboratories
Rural hospitals and clinics depend on timely laboratory services, and modernizing the services, technology, and infrastructure of public health laboratories can support rural health goals. Projects to implement electronic test order and results (ETOR) with rural hospitals and healthcare organizations (HCOs), dashboards and metrics reporting, and expanded courier services may fall within the scope of the RHT Program.
We encourage public health laboratory informatics teams to coordinate with their leadership and with the agency leading their State's grant application so that the application includes investments that will help the lab transform the way that it supports rural populations.
Project ideas should focus on their important and impact for rural health; they should clearly articulate the challenge, as well as the intended outcome.
If you have questions about the RHT and its impact for public health, you can reach out to melanie.kourbage@aphl.org.
For more on how public health laboratories might leverage this opportunity, visit APHL's policy engagement page here.
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Melanie Kourbage
Lead Specialist, Informatics
Association of Public Health Laboratories
Bethesda MD
(240) 485-2747
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