GROW: Cultivating Hoosier Health — Regional Grants Program
Indiana
Eligible Entity Types
Funding
Tribal Provisions
No tribal set-aside, tribal preference, or tribal-specific track is described in the GROW Regional Grants RFA or public-facing program materials. Indiana has one federally recognized tribe with land in the state — the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi (headquartered primarily in southwestern Michigan with land holdings in northeastern Indiana). Tribal health programs and Native-serving organizations seeking GROW funding must participate through the appropriate regional coalition as eligible participants — there is no direct application pathway for tribal entities. Whether Indiana's CMS application narrative contains tribal provisions not visible in the sub-grant solicitation is not confirmed from available sources.
Application Guide
The GROW Regional Grants Program is Indiana's primary vehicle for distributing RHTP funding across the state's rural geography. The program distributes approximately $120 million per year (Year 1 estimate; total of $600 million over five years) through eight geographically defined regional coalitions covering 64 fully rural Indiana counties plus 9 partially rural counties with Critical Access Hospitals. The regional coalition structure is the defining characteristic of Indiana's implementation: individual organizations do not apply to FSSA — they participate as members of their regional coalition, which applies as a unified entity.
Indiana's FSSA released the GROW Regional Grants RFA in March 2026 — approximately 90 days after the CMS award — making Indiana one of the faster-moving Phase 3 states nationally. The Letter of Intent deadline of May 1, 2026, followed by full applications on July 1 and grant agreements beginning September 1, creates a compressed 6-month implementation timeline before the September 30, 2027 federal expenditure deadline.
Individual organizations cannot apply directly to FSSA — this is not a direct-to-FSSA competitive grant. Organizations must identify their region using the GROW regional map at in.gov/grow-rural-health/regional-grants/, then contact their regional Technical Assistance provider: Regions 1–3 (Indiana Hospital Association), Regions 4 and 6 (Indiana Primary Health Care Association), Regions 5, 7, and 8 (Indiana Rural Health Association).
Funding allocation: 80% base allocation distributed to regions based on population size, healthcare access indicators, and health outcomes (formula-based); 20% competitive component scored on strategy quality, workplan clarity, outcomes specificity, projected impact, and sustainability plans. Capital costs capped at 20% of regional award; EMR/EHR replacement capped at 5% of regional award. Per-region range: $40M–$100M over five years.
Each regional coalition must establish a Regional Committee with required member roles — an elected state official, a provider representative, a non-provider medical worker, a patient representative, a pharmacy representative, a local health department official, and a medical managed care organization representative — before the coalition can submit a proposal. The State Executive Oversight Committee certifies regional committees and must approve them before proposals are accepted.
The full coalition application includes: letters of intent from coalition participants, a community-driven needs assessment, logic model, work plan, and budget. The primary subrecipient serves as the fiscal agent and bears full fiduciary responsibility for the coalition's federal award — it cannot sub-award to other coalition members but may contract for services.
LOI deadline: May 1, 2026 — confirmed unchanged as of March 22, 2026. Full application deadline: July 1, 2026 — confirmed unchanged. Late submissions will NOT be accepted. Grant agreements begin: September 1, 2026. Program contact email: GrowRuralHealth@health.in.gov. TA providers: Indiana Hospital Association (IHA, Regions 1–3), Indiana Primary Health Care Association (IPHCA, Regions 4 & 6), Indiana Rural Health Association (IRHA, Regions 5, 7, 8). Program website: in.gov/grow-rural-health/ (also growruralhealth.in.gov). Legislative authority: SB 1 #2 (2026) — established Indiana Rural Health Transformation Fund; expenditures subject to budget committee review.