Connecticut's RHT plan will modernize rural health delivery by investing in shared technology infrastructure, predictive analytics, facility upgrades, digital inclusion, and telehealth expansion. -…

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services awarded a Cooperative Agreement totaling $616,996,422 to the Connecticut Department of Social Services on December 29, 2025, to implement Connecticut's Rural Health Transformation Plan under the Rural Health Transformation Program (CFDA 93.798). The award supports modernization of rural health delivery across Connecticut through shared technology infrastructure, predictive analytics, facility upgrades, digital inclusion, and telehealth expansion, operating through October 30, 2030.

The plan centers on four coordinated initiatives encompassing thirty-one targeted projects designed to address CMS's strategic goals: making rural America healthy by addressing disease root causes, strengthening sustainable healthcare access, improving workforce development, promoting innovative care, and enhancing technology innovation. Specific deliverables include population health outcomes advancement through prevention and chronic disease management; care delivery transformation via mobile health pilots, mobile clinics, and provider incentive programs; workforce development including formalized Certified Nurse Aide and medication administration training, rural residency development grants, and healthcare provider recruitment and retention; and technology and analytics infrastructure including AI-powered virtual care platforms, predictive analytics for care coordination, and health information exchange expansion.

DSS serves as lead agency, with sub-recipients implementing projects across multiple state departments: the Connecticut Office of Rural Health, Office of Policy and Management, Office of Health Strategy, Office of Early Childhood, Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Aging and Disability Services, Department of Public Health, State Department of Education, and Department of Agriculture. Sub-awardees deliver specific projects including Area Health Education Center operations and rural clinical rotations (University of Connecticut Health Center); outdoor recreation programming and trail expansion (Department of Energy and Environmental Protection); non-traditional farming infrastructure grants and food system investments (Department of Agriculture); mental health consultation services and crisis stabilization units (Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services); school-based behavioral health programming (State Department of Education); policy coordination and sustainability planning (Office of Policy and Management); nurse home visiting expansion (Office of Early Childhood); digital literacy support and exercise programming for older adults (Aging and Disability Services); and mobile health pilots and provider incentive administration (Department of Public Health). Connecticut State Community College implements community health navigator services across twenty-one rural towns. The award supports contractor positions and competitive grant administration distinct from direct state sub-award arrangements.

Connecticut's RHT plan will modernize rural health delivery by investing in shared technology infrastructure, predictive analytics, facility upgrades, digital inclusion, and telehealth expansion. - name of organization: connecticut department of social services (DSS) title: connecticut rural health transformation (RHT) plan (CMS-RHT-26-001) subrecipients / sub-awardee organizations: DSS will serve as the lead agency. The project includes the following subrecipients/sub-awardees who will also carry out the state's RHT plan: the connecticut office of rural health (ORH), office of policy and management (OPM), office of health strategy (OHS), office of early childhood (OEC), department of mental health and addiction services (dmhas), department of energy and environmental protection (deep), aging and disability services (ADS), department of public health (DPH), state department of education (SDE), and department of agriculture (doag). The project also includes funding for contractors who will receive funding through contracts, distinct from the subrecipient/sub-awardee state agencies listed above. Project goals: the connecticut RHT plan is a critical mechanism to advance a sustainable, data-driven model of care that enhances access, quality, and outcomes. DSS, as lead agency, is committed to removing barriers to treatment, improving health outcomes, and promoting patient-centered care. The RHT plan centers on four coordinated initiatives that collectively include thirty-one targeted projects which, together, address all of CMS's strategic goals for this grant to transform healthcare for residents in the state's rural areas: make rural america healthy again by addressing root causes of diseases; strengthen sustainable healthcare access; improve workforce development; promote innovative care; and enhance tech innovation. The initiatives are: 1. Population health outcomes - advance prevention, improve management of chronic diseases, maternal and behavioral health integration, and address root causes of disease. 2. Workforce - strengthen recruitment, training, and retention of healthcare providers and staff through education partnerships, telehealth support, and career pipelines. 3. Data & technology - expand interoperability, health information exchange participation and telehealth infrastructure, and analytics to guide performance and inform policy, as well as improve healthcare providers' ability to coordinate care and improve population health. 4. Care transformation & stability - promote rural healthcare provider capacity to improve quality and population health, including by supporting enhanced care coordination, adoption of value-based models, integrating medical, behavioral, dental, and long-term services, coordinated care teams, and sustainable funding mechanisms for rural healthcare providers. The state's plan will leverage partnerships with state and local agencies, tribal partners, healthcare providers, and community organizations to ensure locally responsive solutions. By aligning investments with evidence-based projects, the RHT plan will improve chronic disease management, expand healthcare access, reduce avoidable hospitalizations, and strengthen the long-term health of rural residents through sustainable solutions. This program will modernize electronic and logistical infrastructure, strengthen community-to-clinician connections, and further integrate healthcare and community-based services across settings and types of care. Total budget amount: $1,000,000,000 use of funds: the requested $1,000,000,000 provides the investment needed to build a more resilient system that emphasizes prevention, supports providers, and ensures high-quality care that transcends distance barriers.