The Tennessee RHTP application includes initiatives for the oral health workforce and value-based payment
Rural Health Transformation Program [RHTP] Application Opportunity Number: CMS-RHT-26-001 Project Narrative Submitted by the State of Tennessee, Tennessee Department of Health:
“Dental Pilot Initiative: Enhancing investments in the rural dental workforce to improve oral health access
Description: Tennessee will extend its successful Rural Dental Pilot Program to address persistent shortages of dental professionals in rural and distressed communities.
Building on the early success supported by Governor Lee and the Legislature, this extended pilot (FY2028– FY2030) will expand dental provider recruitment, establish new rural dental access points, and integrate preventive oral health services into Dental HPSAs (which include 83% of Tennessee counties), with many lacking even one full-time dentist. In FY2024, TDH’s public health dental clinics provided 97,086 dental services to more than 11,000 Tennesseans, while the School-Based Dental Prevention Project reached 44,000 children and placed nearly 200,000 sealants statewide. Demand continues to exceed capacity, underscoring the need to extend the model through RHT funding to achieve scale and sustainability.
Main Strategic Goal: Sustainable Access Use of Funds: A, D, F, G, H, K Technical Score Factors: B.1, B.2, D.1, E.1, F.1, F.3 Key Stakeholders: TDH Office of Oral Health, TennCare; Academic training center participants Outcome Metric Baseline/Target Increase the # of dental clinicians placed in rural/distressed counties* Baseline: 0 clinicians Target: 25 clinicians Increase the # of new or renovated dental suites established. Baseline: 0 dental suites. Target: 15 dental suites. Increase the # of Tennesseans receiving preventive/restorative dental services through projects funded through this opportunity. Baseline: 0 Tennesseans Target: 100,000 Tennesseans Reduce the % of Emergency Department visits for dental conditions among uninsured populations. Baseline: TBD Target:10% 26 Establish full HRTS integration of dental metrics. Baseline: 0 Target:100%
Total Requested: $20,000,000 (scalable to $75,000,000)” (p.25-26)
“Value-Based Payment: Maternal, Hospitals, Dental Initiative: Catalyzing Rural Health Value-Based Payment
Models Description: Traditional fee-for-service models reward volume over value, exacerbating the challenges faced by rural providers. TennCare has demonstrated success in implementing value-based payment (VBP) programs that improve outcomes and reduce costs across multiple care settings. This initiative aims to expand that success to rural hospitals, obstetric providers, and dental clinics to strengthen infrastructure, workforce readiness, and quality improvement systems that support sustained participation in VBP models. Investments focus on three coordinated models: the Patient-Centered Obstetric Medical Home, incentivizing coordinated maternal care & postpartum follow-up; the Rural Hospital VBP Capacity Program, providing infrastructure 28 funding for rural hospitals to meet quality benchmarks and be successful under the TennCare Hospital Investment Program (HIP-QC); and the Patient-Centered Dental Home, engaging rural dental providers to expand preventive care, reduce emergency visits, and promote integrated oral and physical health. Together, these models catalyze a sustainable shift toward value-based, high-quality delivery for providers serving rural communities.
Main Strategic Goal: Innovative Care Use of Funds: B, D, I, K Technical Score Factors: B.1, E.1, F.2 Key Stakeholders: TennCare Health Plans, hospitals, Outcome Metric Baseline/Target Improve average Admission, Discharge, and Transfer (ADT) quality measure performance in HIP-QC. Baseline: 41% Target: 70% Increase number of obstetric practices in maternal VBP program.* Baseline: 0 Target: 10 Decrease Plan All-Cause Readmissions (PCR). Baseline: 1.1445 Target: <1.0 Decrease Ambulatory Care Sensitive Emergency Department Visits for Non-Traumatic Dental Conditions in Adults (EDV-AD). Baseline: 180.75 Target: 170 Impacted Counties: Statewide/All TN Counties
Estimated Required Funding: $100,000,000 (scalable to $125,000,000)” (p.27-28)
“TENNESSEE RURAL HEALTH TRANSFORMATION Community Kickoff | March 31, 2026 [Slides]”
Learn more: https://www.tn.gov/health/rural