California health officials on a kickoff webinar detailed the state’s plan and timeline to apply for the federal Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), spelling out a baseline equal-share allocation and a competitive funding tranche while urging stakeholders to provide input through an imminent survey.

The Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) agency and the State Office of Rural Health (SOAR) said the RHTP is a five‑year, $50 billion federal program that will distribute $25 billion equally among states and $25 billion through competitive awards. Tiffany Frazier, program coordinator for the State Office of Rural Health, said during the webinar, “The RHTP is an investment of $50,000,000,000 from the federal government over 5 years to transform rural health care access.”

Why this matters: the equal-share portion means an approved California application would yield a baseline allocation that HCAI officials described as about $500 million per state total over five years — roughly $100 million per year — with additional funds available to states whose proposals score highest under CMS priorities. Elizabeth Landsberg, director of HCAI, cautioned that the new funding “can’t make up for the ... significant loss of federal funds” from recent Medicaid changes, and said the program is meant to fund transformation projects rather than substitute directly for Medicaid/Medicare revenue.

HCAI provided the timetable officials plan to follow if CMS issues the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) on the anticipated schedule: the NOFO was expected in mid‑September; states would draft applications in the fall with a submission target in November; CMS must approve applications by Dec. 31. Frazier said that once funds are received, each year’s allotment must be spent within two years.

Officials emphasized the two-part funding structure. HCAI staff said $25 billion will be split equally among states with approved plans; a separate $25 billion will be awarded based on CMS‑identified factors and competitive scoring. HCAI intends to use state data and stakeholder input to make California’s case for additional competitive funding.

To shape the application, HCAI announced immediate stakeholder steps: a survey to be emailed the day after the webinar (open for one week), targeted outreach to priority stakeholders in mid‑September, draft priorities and public listening sessions the week of Sept. 29–Oct. 3, and continued outreach via SOAR’s rural‑health mailing list and the program webpage. Frazier said the survey will have about 25 questions, cannot be saved mid‑entry, and respondents should plan to complete it in one sitting; she asked that organizations coordinate responses so that ideally one person per organization submits answers.

Officials repeatedly said they are operating under limited federal guidance so far and that some timeline elements are contingent on the NOFO’s release. Elizabeth Landsberg urged broad participation: “Your ideas are important to us,” she said, calling for providers, tribal nations, consumer groups and counties to contribute data and proposals.

Looking ahead, HCAI said the state will draft priorities informed by the survey and listening sessions and will coordinate within the administration, including the Governor’s office and the Department of Health Care Services, before finalizing the application for CMS review.