RHTP-3.3: Rural Health Care Workforce Incentive and Sustainability Model

RHTP-3.3 funds Nebraska's rural health care workforce initiative — provider recruitment and retention incentives, healthcare training programs, and sustainability infrastructure for rural health workforce pipelines. This is Nebraska's third investment priority. The solicitation is notable for its eligibility scope: unlike the clinical-entity-focused RHTP-4.4A, RHTP-3.3 targets the training and government infrastructure that supports rural healthcare — local governments, Indian tribes, institutions of higher education (community colleges, universities), and nonprofits and for-profit entities.

The June 1, 2026 deadline gives RHTP-3.3 the longest runway of Nebraska's three Year 1 RFAs — approximately 10 weeks from the March 22 research date. The total budget and per-award range have not been confirmed in available materials. Organizations should download the full RFA document for funding guidance.

Eligible applicant types for RHTP-3.3, as listed in the DHHS announcement materials: local governments, Indian tribes (federally recognized), institutions of higher education (community colleges, universities, medical schools), nonprofits, and for-profit entities. This is a broader eligibility profile than RHTP-4.4A and notably does not list clinical providers (CAHs, FQHCs, hospitals) as primary applicant types. The focus on training institutions and government bodies reflects the initiative's upstream orientation — building the pipeline and systems that produce rural healthcare workers, rather than funding direct patient care.

Indian tribes are explicitly named as eligible applicants in RHTP-3.3. This is the most direct and unambiguous tribal access point in Nebraska's Year 1 RHTP program. Nebraska's four federally recognized tribes — the Omaha Tribe, Ponca Tribe, Santee Sioux Nation, and Winnebago Tribe (Ho-Chunk) — may apply as Indian tribes without needing to operate under a CAH, FQHC, or other clinical structure. Tribal workforce development programs are a strong fit for this solicitation: recruitment and retention incentives for tribal health workers, training partnerships between tribal nations and community colleges or nursing programs, and sustainability infrastructure for tribal health departments are all consistent with the initiative's framing.

For institutions of higher education: community colleges with rural healthcare training programs are well positioned. The application should quantify current capacity, identify the specific expansion enabled by RHTP-3.3 funding, and document the placement outcomes for graduates. Clinical training partnerships with CAHs, FQHCs, or tribal health programs strengthen the rural impact narrative.

For local governments: county governments and rural health districts are eligible applicants. Workforce investments that a local government can sustain — such as a dedicated rural health workforce coordinator, a rural scholarship matching program, or a healthcare worker housing support program — fit well.

For nonprofits and for-profits: workforce training organizations, staffing agencies, or workforce development nonprofits operating in rural Nebraska may be eligible. The application must connect the organization's activities specifically to the rural Nebraska healthcare workforce, not workforce development generally.