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Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project

RHPTP guides small rural hospitals and certified rural health clinics as they prepare for participation in alternative payment and care delivery models.

In 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the nation's largest health payer, set the goal of transitioning all Medicare beneficiaries and a majority of Medicaid beneficiaries into a value-based care (VBC) model. 

The shift from a traditional fee-for-service model focused on volume to a VBC model focused on patient health outcomes leads to prevention-based patient services, increased patient engagement and satisfaction, reduced effects and incidence of chronic disease, improved quality of care, and lower costs for both patients and payers. 

The Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project (RHPTP), which began in 2020, provides direct support to five small rural hospitals and certified rural health clinics annually, to help them strengthen their organization's understanding of VBC and learn strategies they can use to be effective participants in a health care system focused on value. 

We have really enjoyed every meeting and interaction with RHPTP staff and consultants! I have learned a lot and will always treasure this experience in making our hospital a better place for our patients.

Electra Hospital District, Electra, Texas

Project participants receive a range of virtual and on-site technical assistance, consultation, and coaching around organizational operations, readiness for assuming financial risk, and quality improvement in the areas of efficiency, building infrastructure to embed improvement into everyday practice, patient experience, or safety of care; participation in a learning collaborative; and post-project progress calls. 

Twenty additional RHPTP-eligible organizations are selected each year to receive support through participation in a virtual Learning Collaborative.

All RHPTP-eligible organizations are invited to participate in the Health Education Learning Program (HELP) webinar series.

RHPTP is supported through a cooperative agreement with the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy and administered by the National Rural Health Resource Center.

Eligible Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project applicants include small rural hospitals and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)-certified rural health clinics.

Read more about RHPTP eligibility and the application process

Small rural hospitals and certified rural health clinics that participate in the Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project (RHPTP) receive a range of virtual and on-site technical assistance services that are designed to strengthen each organization’s understanding of value-based care (VBC) and share strategies they can use to be effective participants in a health care system focused on value.

Read more about the benefits of participating in RHPTP

Organizations selected to participate in the Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project (RHPTP) should exhibit strong leadership and a commitment to fully engage in project consultations and activities that prepare them for population health and value-based care through alternative payment models.

Read more about what's expected of RHPTP participants

Participant Satisfaction

RHPTP’s FY 2021 cohort reported overwhelming satisfaction with the program and its ability to help organizations meet the demands of the changing rural health care landscape. They also reported a strong willingness to recommend the program to others.

Upcoming Events

In this webinar, participants will learn about issues surrounding maternal health in rural settings and explore whether small rural hospitals, rural health clinics, and communities can leverage Federally Qualified Health Centers to stabilize maternal health care access and improve outcomes.
In this HELP Webinar, learn about social drivers of health, their impact on patient outcomes, and discuss the lessons learned in this journey the outcomes of patients, and discuss lessons learned on the journey toward health equity.

Program Contacts

Program Specialist
Program Coordinator II

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U5ERH39345 as part of a financial assistance award totaling $800,000 (0% financed with nongovernmental sources). The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA/HHS, or the U.S. Government.