Nebraska
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)
Year 1 Award
$218.5M
Solicitations
03
Tribal Set-Aside
Yes
This state has open sub-grantee solicitations. Applications are being accepted now.
Analysis
Nebraska received $218,529,075 for Year 1 of RHTP — the 8th highest national award — announced December 29, 2025. Lead agency is Nebraska DHHS, which moved faster than almost any other state: by early March 2026, three separate RFAs were open simultaneously with deadlines ranging from March 17 to June 1, 2026. Nebraska is among the most active Phase 3 states in this batch. Nebraska's rural footprint is large and genuinely rural: 34% of the state's population lives in nonmetro areas, served by 62 CAHs — the highest count of any state in this batch. The per-rural-resident figure of $280 reflects a state with real rural scale. DHHS framed the program as "prevention first, tech-enabled sustainable rural health care," with seven integrated initiatives covering food security, regionalized emergency access, workforce, telehealth, behavioral health, assisted living, and technology. The NCUIH tracker confirms Nebraska listed tribes or tribal organizations as subrecipients of the state's allocation, and tribal health facilities are explicitly named as eligible in at least two of the three released RFAs. Nebraska has four federally recognized tribes: the Omaha Tribe, Ponca Tribe, Santee Sioux Nation, and Winnebago Tribe (Ho-Chunk). Tribal set-aside amount has not been published.
Applications & Compliance
RHTP-1.2: Make Rural Nebraska Healthy Again Through Food as Medicine
Eligible: Other
Apr 8, 2026
Deadline
RHTP-3.3: Rural Health Care Workforce Incentive and Sustainability Model
Eligible: LHD, Tribal, Other
Jun 1, 2026
Deadline
RHTP-4.4A: Chronic Disease Management Navigation and Education
Closed Mar 17, 2026
Compliance Prerequisites for Nebraska
What your organization needs in place before applying
Implementation Model
Nebraska DHHS is running a direct competitive RFA model — no regional hub intermediary layer. Organizations apply directly to DHHS. Multiple RFAs are staged across the five-year grant period, with three already open as of March 2026. Eligible applicants vary by RFA: the workforce RFA (RHTP-3.3) names local governments, Indian tribes, institutions of higher education, and nonprofits/for-profits; the chronic disease RFA (RHTP-4.4A) names rural clinics, FQHCs, CCBHCs, local health departments, CAHs, rural emergency hospitals, rural hospitals, and tribal health facilities; the food-as-medicine RFA (RHTP-1.2) names producers, food cooperatives, nonprofits, and food pantries. Smaller organizations without state contract history can apply directly to DHHS under the open competition format.
Investment Priorities
Make Rural Nebraska Healthy Again Through Food as Medicine
School kitchen modernization, regional food pantries, farm-to-school programs, and nutrition education. RFA open; deadline April 8, 2026. Eligible: producers, food cooperatives, nonprofits, food pantries.
Regionalized Rural Access and Navigation
EMS regionalization, emergency supply stockpiles, and community health worker networks to extend care access across Nebraska's frontier geography.
Rural Health Care Workforce Incentive and Sustainability Model
Provider recruitment and retention incentives, healthcare training programs. RFA open; deadline June 1, 2026. Eligible: local governments, Indian tribes, institutions of higher education, nonprofits/for-profits.
eHealth and Mobile Care
Telehealth services, oral health expansion, chronic disease management navigation and education. RFA-4.4A open; deadline March 17, 2026. Eligible: rural clinics, FQHCs, CCBHCs, local health departments, CAHs, rural hospitals, tribal health facilities.
Rural Emergency Behavioral Health
Crisis stabilization centers and integrated behavioral health services.
Assisted Living Facility Special Needs Population Incentive Model
Enhanced payments and facility modernization for assisted living providers serving rural special needs populations.
Rural Health Technology Catalyst Fund
Partnership initiatives for health information technology adoption, cybersecurity, and telehealth capacity.
What to Watch
RHTP-4.4A chronic disease RFA — March 17 deadline
Likely closedThis RFA ($26.9M preliminary budget) may have closed by research date. Monitor DHHS for award announcement; timing signals how fast Nebraska will move on subsequent RFAs.
Food as Medicine RFA (RHTP-1.2) — April 8 deadline
2.5 weeksUnusual eligibility scope: food producers and pantries alongside health organizations. Applicants with food-access and health intersections (FQHCs with food pantry partnerships, tribal food programs) should evaluate eligibility.
Workforce RFA (RHTP-3.3) — June 1 deadline
~10 weeksExplicitly names Indian tribes as eligible. This is the clearest entry point for Nebraska's four federally recognized tribes (Omaha, Ponca, Santee Sioux, Winnebago) and their health departments. Award amount per application not published; total initiative budget not confirmed.
Tribal set-aside clarification
OngoingNCUIH confirmed Nebraska lists tribes as subrecipients; dollar amount and set-aside mechanism not published. Monitor DHHS for tribal-specific guidance or dedicated solicitation.
Additional RFAs for initiatives 2, 5, 6, 7
Spring–Summer 2026Regionalized access, behavioral health, assisted living, and technology initiatives have not yet had RFAs released. Watch DHHS announcements for these solicitations.