Approximately $15.5 Million for Rural Primary Care Transformation
The Foundation for Healthy Communities (FHC), through New Hampshire’s GO-NORTH Rural Health Transformation initiative, is accepting applications for the Rural Primary Care Access RFA. FHC expects to award approximately $15.5 million to support sustainable, team-based, technology-enabled and community-connected rural primary care models across New Hampshire.
The initial application deadline is October 15, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET. FHC will continue accepting applications on a rolling basis after the initial close while funds remain, but it may close or pause the rolling period once available funding is committed. Applicants therefore receive the strongest funding consideration by meeting the initial deadline.
Who Can Apply
Eligible lead applicants include organizations that deliver primary care, including Federally Qualified Health Centers and FQHC Look-Alikes, provider-based or independent Rural Health Clinics, rural primary care practices, and hospitals with a primary care clinic or Rural Health Clinic. Organizations that do not directly deliver primary care may also lead when their proposal meaningfully integrates their services into rural primary care delivery and satisfies FHC’s Primary Care Alignment Test.
Multiple organizations may collaborate. Partner organizations may include hospitals, specialty practices, behavioral-health providers, EMS agencies, oral-health providers, community-based organizations, telehealth providers and other organizations whose role directly supports primary care transformation. A non-primary-care lead must demonstrate real integration rather than a referral-only relationship and provide appropriate commitment documentation from named primary care partners.
Rural Eligibility
Projects must meet New Hampshire’s rural eligibility requirements. The RFA provides two pathways: projects primarily benefiting an HRSA-defined rural area, or qualifying healthcare facilities that meet the CMS Rural Health Transformation definition, including RHCs and FQHCs.
Technology, Telehealth and Remote Care Are Explicit Funding Pathways
The RFA contains unusually strong digital-health language. Eligible models include virtual-first primary care, technology and systems for video visits, after-hours and weekend telehealth, telehealth-enabled access points, specialty access through telehealth, home-based primary care, remote patient monitoring, hospital-at-home remote monitoring and technology-enabled clinical services.
FHC also identifies a dedicated Technology Adoption with a Return on Investment focus area. Examples include interoperable EHRs, e-consults, shared video and chat tools for remote patient visits and multidisciplinary case review, patient technology, remote patient monitoring, population-health infrastructure, shared registries and dashboards, AI-enabled workflow improvements, closed-loop referral systems and other technology that improves patient care while reducing burden, lowering cost, increasing clinical productivity or improving financial sustainability.
Equipment and Health IT Rules
Medical, clinical and technological equipment necessary to carry out an approved project may be allowable, but equipment meeting the federal definition requires CMS prior written approval before reimbursement. Applicants may include proposed equipment in the application, but must identify the item, manufacturer/model or equivalent specification, unit cost and quantity, project justification, useful life and proposed location. Equipment that does not receive required CMS approval is not reimbursable.
The RFA separately allows health information technology, software licensing and IT infrastructure directly required for implementation, including technology supporting interoperability, telehealth and related program delivery. Applicants should avoid assuming that any specific device is automatically eligible and should tie every technology purchase to the approved rural primary care transformation model and measurable return on investment.
Direct Clinical Services
GO-NORTH funding may support health care items or services that are not already reimbursable when the applicant demonstrates that the funding fills a care gap or transforms the delivery model. Existing billable services may not be duplicated or used to alter existing fee schedules. Mixed reimbursable and non-reimbursable personnel costs require clear tracking and allocation.
Atlas Opportunity Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 99/100. This is one of New Hampshire’s strongest current rural transformation opportunities because it combines approximately $15.5 million in available funding with explicit authority for technology-enabled primary care, virtual-first access, telehealth, remote patient monitoring, interoperability, chronic-disease management, value-based care and collaborative regional delivery models.
N9+ Direct Vendor Fit: 96/100 conditional — Path B. The RFA expressly supports telehealth-enabled access points, remote patient visits, patient technology, technology-enabled clinical services, RPM and clinical/technological equipment. That creates a strong potential N9+ pathway when an eligible rural primary care applicant incorporates connected examination capability into a documented transformation model. Dr. Miltie should not be positioned as the lead applicant unless it independently satisfies the RFA’s lead-applicant and Primary Care Alignment requirements; the stronger structure is generally an eligible FQHC, RHC, rural primary care practice or hospital-led application with Dr. Miltie as an integrated technology partner. Any equipment requiring CMS approval must be identified in the application and approved before reimbursement.
QC Healthcare Fit: 78/100 conditional. After-hours/weekend telehealth, integrated care models and non-reimbursable gap-filling clinical services create a potential physician-coverage pathway, but the RFA prohibits duplication of already billable services. Any QC Healthcare component must be structured as a justified transformation or access-gap expense and comply with GO-NORTH review requirements.
Next Action
Eligible organizations should immediately confirm rural eligibility, choose the strongest primary care transformation model, define measurable access and financial-sustainability outcomes, document technology ROI, identify all required primary care and regional partners, and prepare the workplan and budget for submission by October 15, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET. Technology projects should document the clinical problem, target population, workflow, implementation plan, interoperability requirements, measurable outcome, reimbursement/sustainability strategy and any equipment requiring CMS prior approval.
Official sources: Foundation for Healthy Communities — GO-NORTH Rural Health Transformation Program and FHC Rural Primary Care Access RFA.