$6.43M in funding announced to improve health care in rural communities

LANSING, Mich.— The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity’s (LEO) Office of Rural Prosperity is announcing a grant opportunity to modernize digital infrastructure and adopt technology that strengthens care coordination and expands access to care thanks to funding from the federal Rural Health Transformation Program, funded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). This program is designed to overcome barriers to care and build stronger, more connected health systems, ensuring access to high-quality care closer to home.

In coordination with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), LEO will award approximately $6.43 million to support projects that use technology or technology-enabled solutions to strengthen rural health and social-care delivery. Projects must demonstrably and primarily benefit rural Michigan communities and address locally identified needs such as access barriers, care-coordination challenges, data-exchange gaps, administrative burden and workforce limitations.

“We’re grateful for this funding to strengthen rural healthcare,” said LEO Director Susan Corbin. “This investment will help move Michiganders toward equitable access to healthcare and give rural providers the tools and resources they need to improve care.”

Projects must directly and primarily benefit eligible rural communities using the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy rural classification. Applicants may be located outside rural areas but must clearly document rural beneficiaries, rural reach and rural impact. Rural health clinics, health care and social providers, local governments, and community-based organizations focused on health-related social needs are eligible applicants for this grant funding opportunity.

Awards range from $50,000 to $700,000. The application closes Thursday, Nov. 19, at 3 p.m., EST. The grant period is expected to run from Jan. 1, 2027, to Sept. 30, 2027.

In addition to this competitive funding opportunity, Office of Rural Prosperity will work with statewide rural health partner organizations to target additional funds towards rural hospitals and rural health clinics to advance projects that modernize digital infrastructure and adopt technology that strengthens care coordination and expands access to care and will work with statewide and regional partners to identify regional needs, focusing on collaboration infrastructure and communication pathways between partners.

Visit the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity’s EGrAMs website to learn more and apply.

This publication is supported by the Rural Health Transformation Program administered by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services through a federal award from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services as part of a financial assistance award totaling $16,730,623. with 100 percent funded by CMS/HHS. The contents are the responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of MDHHS, CMS, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.