The Michigan Center for Rural Health (MCRH) is accepting applications for a Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) Behavioral Health Integration funding opportunity for Rural Health Clinics. This is applicant-facing subgrant assistance for eligible Michigan clinics, not a vendor procurement. Completed applications are due November 30, 2026 by email to RHTP.MCRH@msu.edu. The controlling Application Guide and application form specify 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on November 30, 2026 as the submission cutoff.
Funding available
Applicants may request up to $180,000 per application. For one health system or organization applying on behalf of multiple eligible Rural Health Clinics, $180,000 is the total maximum across all participating clinics, not a separate award for each clinic. Awards are reimbursement-based and subject to applicable subgrant approval. Activities and expenditures may begin only after the subgrant agreement is fully executed and the workplan and budget are approved. Awarded funds must be expended by September 30, 2027. The controlling Application Guide explicitly confirms no matching contribution is required. A total funding pool exclusive to this competition is not separately published; the broader $9,620,000 federal assistance amount referenced by MCRH is not an individual applicant award.
Who is eligible
Applicants must be certified Rural Health Clinics located in Michigan counties designated fully or partially rural. Priority is given to clinics in Huron, Sanilac, Tuscola, Branch, Hillsdale, Lenawee, and St. Joseph counties. If there are insufficient qualified applications from those priority counties, MCRH may consider clinics in other fully or partially rural Michigan counties. Applicants can submit individual clinic applications or one organization-level application covering multiple eligible clinics. Every participating clinic must be identified by name, location, and CMS Certification Number, and a clinic may appear on only one application for this specific funding opportunity.
Two integration pathways
Pathway A — Foundational Integration serves clinics with little or no formal behavioral health integration, no on-site behavioral health staff, or primarily external referrals. Pathway B — Integrated Care Implementation serves clinics with screening and referral processes ready to implement structured evidence-based models, such as collaborative care, primary care behavioral health, psychiatric consultation or e-consultation, measurement-based care, or integrated substance use, pediatric, adolescent, or perinatal behavioral health. Funded clinics complete a readiness assessment to confirm their pathway; different clinics in one organization-level application may select different pathways.
Costs, conditions and application
Eligible projects may support approved nonbillable startup and implementation time, screening and warm-handoff workflows, staff training, psychiatric consultation during pre-billing startup, EHR or patient-registry configuration, behavioral health coding readiness, and related approved evaluation and coordination activities. Equipment, consultant services, technology and indirect expenses may require prior review and approval; land and vehicle acquisition, new construction, major renovations, replacement of existing funded staff costs, and unrelated routine operating expenses are ineligible. Grant funds may not pay for direct patient care or clinical services billable to another payer or funding source. Expenses and projects must be documented and approved under the executed subgrant agreement. Clinics are expected to fulfill applicable pathway priorities by the end of the funding period, but a complete implementation plan is not required when first applying. Download the current FAQ and Application Guide, Application, and Eligible/Ineligible Uses of Funds Guide from the official MCRH page, then email the completed application to the MCRH RHTP team by November 30, 2026. The fillable application requests each participating clinic’s identity and CMS Certification Number, selected pathway, need and project description, current capacity, readiness, anticipated results and sustainability, proposed funding estimate, disclosures of overlapping RHTP funding, and applicant commitments. A full workplan and detailed final budget are developed after selection. Confirm any later amendments directly with MCRH.
Official source: Michigan Center for Rural Health — RHTP Funding Opportunities for Rural Health Clinics; official Application Guide and FAQ; fillable application; and eligible and ineligible uses of funds guide. The controlling nine-page Application Guide, eleven-page application, and four-page Eligible/Ineligible Uses of Funds Guide were reviewed on October 30, 2026. Funding and dates remain subject to final MDHHS approval.