Seven of 254, Alaska's Rural Health AI

CMS announced $10 billion in second-year Rural Health Transformation Program awards to all 50 states on November 9th.

Alaska's fiscal year 2027 Rural Health Transformation award is $272,653,149.

Texas received the largest Year 2 award, $281,976,026.

Alaska's Year 2 award is the second largest of the 50 states, behind only Texas.

Montana's Year 2 award is $239,740,669, the third largest.

California's Year 2 award is $231,105,823.

Oklahoma's Year 2 award is $227,097,543.

New Jersey received the smallest Year 2 award, $142,338,224.

With the second-year awards, the federal government has now awarded $20 billion through the Rural Health Transformation Program.

CMS says another $30 billion will be awarded over the program's remaining three years.

All 50 states submitted annual progress reports, which CMS reviewed in determining each state's Year 2 award.

CMS said Year 2 awards rested partly on state progress with rural health policies such as the Presidential Fitness Test and physician continuing education on nutrition.

CMS said Year 2 awards also reflect, in part, each state's progress implementing its approved transformation plan.

Each state receives $100 million a year in baseline Rural Health Transformation funding.

The other half of annual funding, called workload funding, weighs factors including the characteristics of a state's rural population and health facilities, its plan initiatives and certain state policy actions.

Because workload funding is recalculated each year, CMS says a state's total award may rise, fall or stay similar from year to year.

For Year 2, CMS weighed each state's initiative progress at checkpoints such as program governance, project plan approval, launching initiatives, reaching milestones, establishing methods for measuring results and planning for sustainability.

Tech innovation is one of the program's five strategic goals.

Technology-enabled care and health IT is one of the approved uses of program funds, and states must use funds for at least three approved uses.

CMS announced on October 22nd nearly $249 million in Rural Health Transformation funding for 254 Alaska projects.

The Alaska Department of Health announced on October 22nd the completion of its Year 1 Rural Health Transformation funding cycle.

The final Year 1 Notices of Intent to Award were issued on October 9th.

The rest of Alaska's Year 1 award, beyond the project subawards, supports administration, evaluation and oversight of the program.

According to the Alaska Department of Health, Alaska's Year 1 award was the highest per-capita award in the nation.

The Alaska Department of Health says it has awarded just under $249 million in Year 1 funding.

Alaska's Year 1 funding went to 254 projects.

According to the state, CMS awarded Alaska more than $272 million for Year 1.

Alaska's Year 1 award was the second highest overall award amount, according to the state.

Alaska's Year 1 federal financial assistance award totaled $272,174,855.72, fully funded by CMS.

The Rural Health Transformation Program is a $50 billion, five-year national initiative authorized by Congress in 2025.

Alaska's six program initiatives are Healthy Beginnings, Healthy Communities, Health Care Access, Strengthen Workforce, Spark Technology and Pay for Value.

Norton Sound Health Corporation's Year 1 project will use cellular-enabled remote monitoring and daily check-ins to track high-risk chronic patients in Nome and 15 village clinics.

Tanana Chiefs Conference's Year 1 Healthy Beginnings project will link clinics, health aides, doulas and telehealth into one maternal-infant care network across 32 communities.

Maniilaq Association's Year 1 award places portable X-ray units in Northwest Arctic village clinics.

Health Commissioner Heidi Hedberg said "This funding gives us the tools to help turn that vision into reality."

The department plans to publish a dashboard of the full investment portfolio by the end of the calendar year.

Alaska's Year 2 fall funding cycle opened September 30th, with applications due October 28th.

The state expects to notify Year 2 applicants as early as December, with Year 2 subawards beginning in early 2027.

A second Year 2 funding cycle is expected to open in spring 2027.

Alaska's Year 1 project awards were announced in eight weekly rounds, the first on August 7th covering $4.5 million and 19 projects.

The largest weekly round, announced the week of August 21st, covered $130 million across 104 projects.

The final Year 1 round, on October 9th, covered $4.8 million across 5 projects.

Alaska's Year 1 program is meant to reach each of Alaska's 30 boroughs and census areas.

The state cautions that its Year 1 amounts reflect projected awards as of October 9th and that minor adjustments may occur.

Health Care Access drew the largest share of Year 1 funding, $98.9 million or 40 percent.

Spark Technology and Innovation, the initiative for health technology, telehealth, electronic records and digital infrastructure, received $43.2 million or 17 percent of Year 1 funding.

The state's Notice of Intent to Award workbook lists 254 Year 1 awards totaling $248,976,547.51 in preliminary amounts.

In August, CMS highlighted more than $3.1 million in Alaska funding for a statewide AI imaging network across 21 acute care hospitals.

The Alaska Stroke Coalition's $3,156,626 award funds a statewide AI imaging network across 21 acute care hospitals for stroke and other emergencies.

The AI imaging platforms in the Alaska Stroke Coalition project run on hospitals' existing PACS systems without new imaging hardware.

MapHabit Inc received $1,241,085.55 for AI-powered visual maps for people with developmental disabilities, brain injury and Alzheimer's-related dementias, starting in Mat-Su and the Kenai Peninsula.

Maniilaq Association received $430,000 for behavioral health AI clinical documentation, citing documentation burden as a driver of therapist turnover.

Mat-Su Regional Medical Center received $250,000 for AI-assisted EEG using a single-use headband a nurse can apply, potentially avoiding transfers to Anchorage.

Ptarmigan Pediatrics received $190,556 for a patient portal and Nuance DAX ambient AI voice technology to automate clinical charting.

The Statewide Independent Living Council received $141,702.70 for an AI assistive technology needs assessment tool.

Kodiak Community Health Center received $25,492.50 for an AI-supported clinical documentation platform, the smallest AI-labeled award in the set reviewed.

Bartlett Regional Hospital received $231,669 to convert its electronic health records, saying its clinics' separate systems can't access emerging AI tools.

PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center's preliminary award of $6,967,728.14 funds the first robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgeries in Southern Southeast Alaska.

CMS cited $6.5 million in August for the first robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgeries in Southern Southeast Alaska.

CMS cited $4.75 million in August to expand Alaska's health information exchange.

CMS cited a quarter million dollars in August to develop the framework for a drone-based medication delivery system connecting villages across 94,000 square miles.

Tanana Chiefs Conference received a $250,000 planning award for drone medication delivery linking its Fairbanks hub to 42 Interior villages across 94,000 square miles, with UAF's ACUASI as partner.

Ryan Air received $4,171,115 to bring autonomous cargo drones and electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft to the Bethel and Dillingham regions.

The workbook lists 47 Spark Technology and Innovation awards totaling $43,281,282.

Health Care Access accounts for 102 of the 254 Year 1 awards in the workbook.

Of the 254 Year 1 awards, 26 are planning awards totaling $5,464,210 and 228 are implementation awards.

The seven Year 1 awards whose titles or summaries say they buy or build an AI tool total $5,435,462.75, about $5.4 million, about 2.2 percent or roughly two cents of each dollar of the $248,976,547.51 the workbook lists.

The Alaska Stroke Coalition award's service area in the workbook is Statewide, and its summary names none of the 21 hospitals.

MapHabit's AI award and the Statewide Independent Living Council's AI award are both filed with a Statewide service area.

The three AI awards filed as Statewide total $4,539,414.25, about $4.5 million of the AI total.

The other four AI awards name their service areas, Matanuska-Susitna Borough for Mat-Su Regional and Ptarmigan Pediatrics, Kodiak Island Borough for Kodiak Community Health Center, and North Slope Borough and Northwest Arctic Borough for Maniilaq.

Every one of Alaska's 30 boroughs and census areas is named in at least one Year 1 award's service area in the workbook, and 68 awards are filed as Statewide.

Year 2 workload funding for Alaska works out to $172,653,149, Alaska's $272,653,149 award less the $100 million baseline every state gets.

The part of Alaska's Year 1 award not in the workbook's project subawards comes to $23,198,308.21, about $23.2 million, which the state says supports administration, evaluation and oversight.

KFF Health News reported on November 5th that CMS missed its October 31st deadline to tell states their Year 2 award amounts.