Frequently Asked Questions About the 2026 FTCA Application

Every year, certain questions about the FTCA redeeming application come up again and again. This year, the RegLantern team has noticed a handful of topics that keep popping up as health centers prepare their submissions. To help, I’ve pulled together the most common questions and clear guidance on each. If new questions start to surface, I’ll update this list to keep it relevant for everyone still working on their applications.

What do I do with the “Findings” text box in the risk assessment section?

This is simply a place to summarize the risks your team identified during the risk assessment process for that quarter. This could include a summary of the contributing factors that were found that led to the risks and resulted in this topic area being selected. This text box is not something that I recommend health centers stress excessively about. The most important things FTCA application reviewers will be evaluating are the contents of the risk assessment document itself. Some health centers are using an AI platform (like ChatGPT) to quickly summarize key points in the risk assessment. As always, don’t put any identifying information into the AI tool and double-check the output for accuracy. But these tools can help save you a little time. The text box is limited to 5,000 characters, so write a quick summary and focus most of your time and energy on ensuring your risk assessments contain all of the required sections and that they are demonstrating efforts that effectively reduce clinical, medical malpractice risk in your health center.

What do I do with the two document upload prompts in the risk assessment section?

For each quarterly risk assessment, HRSA has designed the EHB application to include two document upload prompts: 1) “Supporting Documentation for Assessments Quarter X (Minimum 1) (Maximum 4)”, and 2) “Action Plan Quarter 2 (Minimum 1) (Maximum 1)”.

The first assessment document upload is specifically for the assessment itself, and specifically, the portion of the assessment that includes the “Purpose”, “Goals”, “Methodology”, “Risk Analysis”, and “Risk Evaluation” sections. In this prompt, you can upload a minimum of one document and a maximum of four documents.

The second document upload is meant for the “Action Plan” section of the assessment. In this prompt, you must upload one document.

Since most health centers combine all of these required sections into one document, we recommend health centers simply upload the same document to each prompt, saved in a PDF format. There is nothing wrong with breaking the risk assessment into two documents; however, keeping all six of the required sections in one PDF document does make the review process a little simpler for the reviewer, as they will need to click on and open only one document for each quarter (versus two for every quarter). It’s those little things that make the review quicker and more efficient for FTCA reviewers.

Which format do I upload documents in?

Because FTCA reviewers have various computer operating systems they use when reviewing applications, the PDF format is the best version to upload all documents in. The only document we recommend you upload differently is the “Microsoft Excel FTCA Educational Tracking Log” required and provided by HRSA. It’s important to keep this form in spreadsheet format so reviewers can easily sort and count the number of staff members, etc. Otherwise, we recommend all other documents be uploaded in PDF format.

The FTCA application process can feel complex, but understanding these key details will help you avoid common pitfalls and make your submission as smooth as possible. Focus on clear, concise summaries, use PDF format for everything except the tracking log, and aim to make things easy for your reviewers. If new questions arise, don’t hesitate to reach out or check back here for updates.