RALEIGH – North Carolina opened applications for a $20 million rural health technology fund that will support telehealth, electronic health records, cybersecurity and other digital projects.
The Rural Health Innovation Fund will make up to $20 million available per year for up to five years to help rural providers modernize infrastructure and practice operations. The North Carolina Department of Information Technology is administering the fund in partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services.
In the first year, eligible applicants include primary care providers, federally qualified health centers, community health centers and safety-net providers that meet federal health-center requirements. Applicants must show that they serve rural residents even when their county is not federally designated as rural.
Eligible projects can include telehealth expansion, artificial-intelligence tools that support clinical decisions, electronic health record upgrades, cybersecurity improvements and other digital systems that can be scaled and sustained.
Providers must complete an online readiness assessment, gather quotes and submit an application through the NCDIT grant portal by 11:59 p.m. Nov. 16. Awards are expected in January 2027. The funding is reimbursement-based, and first-round projects must be completed by July 30, 2027.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services separately described the $20 million as part of the federal Rural Health Transformation Program. NCDHHS lists North Carolina’s total first-year federal program award at $213,008,356.47.
The announcement did not disclose the expected number of provider awards, a maximum award per applicant, matching requirements or how reimbursement timing may affect participating providers’ cash flow.
Featured image: Official North Carolina Rural Health Transformation Program logo published by NCDHHS. The original artwork was placed unchanged on a neutral field above the approved NC Business Desk footer.