MAHA ELEVATE Funding Opportunity – Applications Due May 15, 2026

Making America Healthy Again: Enhancing Lifestyle and Evaluating Value-based Approaches Through Evidence (MAHA ELEVATE) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) was announced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in December 2025. This NOFO tests whether evidence-based lifestyle interventions can meaningfully reduce chronic disease burden and lower healthcare costs for Original Medicare beneficiaries. The initiative includes holistic, patient-centered lifestyle medicine interventions promoted by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM). The $100 million Medicare NOFO link follows: https://grants.gov/search-results-detail/361494

Aligned with the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), MAHA ELEVATE promotes the whole-person functional or lifestyle medicine (FLM) shown to prevent, manage, and even reverse chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, depression, and obesity.

A true research grant, the applicants must demonstrate strong, evidence-based support for the proposed intervention(s) and proof of successful history of implementation of the intervention/s and cost savings. Applicants must have the ability to recruit large numbers of participants with a clear randomization plan and advanced data management capabilities.

A total of up to 30 applicants will be selected to participate in MAHA ELEVATE, and divided into two cohorts, one year apart (years 2026 and 2027).

Applicant Key Criteria: 

• Whole-person FLM intervention design, including cost savings
• Beneficiary recruitment and study design
• Organizational and administrative capacity
• Data management capabilities.
• Budget

Eligible Applicants Include:

✓ State and local government health agencies

✓ Indian Health Service and Tribal Services programs

✓ Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs)

✓ Community-based organizations

✓ Health systems and accountable care organizations (ACOs)

✓ Organizations with experienced lifestyle medicine practitioners

Timeline

The April 10, 2026 Letter of Intent deadline has now passed. Organizations that submitted their LOI can still proceed to the full application which is due May 15, 2026. If you submitted your LOI, read on to learn how SunHawk Consultants can help you make the most of the opportunity ahead.

SunHawk Consulting

SunHawk consultants bring deep expertise in CMS innovation models and federal grant applications, our consultants help organizations frame their whole-person care approach to meet CMMI’s evidence and data standards, and help ensure proposals are both compelling and fulfilling. SunHawk specializes in lifestyle medicine program design and value-based care strategy, and works alongside organizations to develop intervention compliant frameworks that satisfy MAHA ELEVATE’s rigorous outcome measurement and beneficiary recruitment requirement.

What SunHawk Can Do For You

• Application narrative: crafting a clear, evidence-backed whole-person care proposal that resonates with CMMI reviewers
• Intervention design: aligning your programs to FLM pillars with peer-reviewed evidence
• Advance data management: building the cost, quality, and health outcome tracking infrastructure CMS requires
• Budget development: structuring a credible 3-year cooperative agreement budget for reviewers
• Beneficiary recruitment planning: demonstrating meaningful reach to Original Medicare populations
• Partnership strategy: identifying and formalizing the community and clinical partnerships that strengthen your application

Brigita Landstrom, MHS, CPHQ, CAS
Director
SunHawk Consulting

Brigita Fody Landstrom has 25 years of Medicare/Medicaid managed care, Community Health Center Quality, and large hospital and healthcare systems experience. Passionate about population health, Brigita has dedicated her career to serving the health of communities, with extra attention on traditionally marginalized populations. Brigita has worked with leaders and regulators within multiple market segments on data-driven systems improvement, large-scale health program implementation, grant writing, risk contracting, budget development, policy development, and staff training and support.

Sailaja Prakriya
Director
SunHawk Consulting

Sailaja Prakriya is a healthcare analytics and transformation leader with more than 20 years of experience helping payer, provider, and government healthcare organizations improve operational performance, financial outcomes, and population health through data-driven strategies. She specializes in healthcare analytics strategy, revenue cycle performance analytics, and value-based care transformation, helping organizations translate complex healthcare data into actionable insights that drive measurable improvement.