Opportunity Status
Application window closed. Utah Department of Health and Human Services closed the SHIFT 3.4 — New Models of Care application window on September 1, 2026 at 5:00 PM Mountain Time. Atlas now retains this record for award monitoring, implementation-partner intelligence, and future RHTP successor opportunities rather than presenting it as an open application.
Funding
Utah listed up to $10,000,000 for Budget Period 1 and anticipated up to 12 awards. The RFGA stated that selected applicants would enter an initial 24-month grant agreement and that total SHIFT 3.4 funding across the five-year RHTP initiative could reach $45,000,000, contingent on performance and continued federal funding.
Program Purpose
SHIFT 3.4 was designed to move rural care delivery beyond standard service models. Eligible proposals could address mobile services, transportation, prevention and care management, behavioral health, chronic disease, cancer care, maternal and child health, specialized care-team integration, technical support, and other innovative rural models serving eligible rural Utah counties.
Who Could Apply
Eligible lead applicants included for-profit businesses, nonprofit organizations, governmental or public entities, and tribes or tribal organizations physically based in Utah or qualifying border-state agencies in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, or Nevada with a documented history of serving Utah communities. Applicants also had to remain eligible for state and federal funding and agree to Utah State Purchasing vendor registration requirements.
Technology and Vendor Considerations
The RFGA contemplated technology vendors and implementation partners but was not a general equipment grant. Category J capital expenditures, facility infrastructure, renovations, and equipment upgrades were prohibited. Atlas therefore continues to treat any future N9+ pathway conservatively and only where an allowable service, software, workflow, or other compliant project cost is expressly supported.
Atlas Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 98/100. The program remains strategically important because remote access, mobile care, chronic disease management, behavioral health, maternal and child health, and technology-enabled workflows were central to the permitted model set.
N9+ Direct Vendor Fit: 30/100. Technology participation was possible, but equipment restrictions and Utah’s vendor-geography clarification materially limited a straightforward Dr. Miltie funding path.
Next Action
Monitor Utah DHHS for award announcements, implementation-partner needs, any reopened or reallocated SHIFT 3.4 funds, and successor RHTP funding rounds. Future Atlas updates should verify whether awardees create downstream subcontracting or vendor opportunities before presenting any N9+ pathway as actionable.
Official source: Utah DHHS — Rural Health Transformation Program Funding Opportunities.