Native Hawaiian Health Care Systems

The Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funds comprehensive health promotion, disease prevention, and primary care health services for Native Hawaiians through the Native Hawaiian Health Care Systems program (CFDA 93.932), with the most recent grant opportunity posted September 1, 2026.

The program supports two funding tracks: one award to Papa Ola Lokahi (POL) for administrative coordination and five awards to certified Native Hawaiian Health Care Systems (NHHCS) to deliver health services tailored to island communities. Recent awards under the American Rescue Plan Act—including Project Grants H2C43515 through H2C43520 obligating $3 million to $4.75 million each in August 2021—demonstrate the program's scale and focus on expanding healthcare capacity in response to COVID-19 and infrastructure needs. The program obligated $482 million in combined federal dollars across 54 awards since 1990, with a recent award cadence of six awards annually in select years (2005, 2006, 2021).

Funding is predominantly structured as Project Grants (94 percent of awards) with smaller allocations as Cooperative Agreements (6 percent). HRSA accounts for the entirety of federal funding across three sub-organizational funders; the Health Resources and Services Administration proper dominates by federal dollars obligated at $283.5 million across 12 awards, followed by $194.6 million across 41 awards from another HRSA stream, and $3.9 million from the Bureau of Health Professionals.

Award magnitudes vary significantly. Longer-term foundational awards to the five core NHHCS entities—such as Project Grant H1C00012 obligating $85.7 million and Project Grant H1C00014 obligating $44.2 million—reflect multi-decade commitments through 2027. Mid-range recurring awards cluster in the $1 million to $3.5 million range, while administrative support for POL and the Native Hawaiian Health Scholarship Program (a Cooperative Agreement) operates at smaller scales.

The program operates as a limited competition. Eligibility is restricted to POL and the five POL-recognized and certified NHHCS entities. HRSA-27-013, posted September 1, 2026, solicits applications for fiscal years 2027 through 2031. A parallel Cooperative Agreement opportunity (HRSA-25-073) for Native Hawaiian Health Scholarship Program administrative support carries a July 15, 2025 due date and is restricted to POL. No new general opportunities are currently open to entities outside the certified NHHCS network.