OHA Health Policy & Analytics Division Director Clare Pierce-Wrobel (left) discusses Oregon’s Rural Health Transformation Program with U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services project officers Stephanie Magill and Summer Puckett on July 15 in Hood River, Oregon, while OHA Office of Health Policy Director Stephanie Jarem (far right) listens.
Credit: Danielle Ross/Oregon Health Authority (OHA)
Dr. Jodi Ready, an internal medicine physician and a member of the nonprofit Columbia Gorge Health Council’s board, holds up a map of Oregon with colorful arrows that mark where the Connected Care for Older Adults home-visiting program operates. Dr. Ready and other Columbia Gorge Health Council representatives met with state and federal health officials on July 14, in The Dalles to discuss how a $618,000 federal Rural Health Transformation Program grant will enable them to help more rural seniors.
Credit: Danielle Ross/Oregon Health Authority (OHA)
OHA Health Policy & Analytics Division Director Clare Pierce-Wrobel (left) discusses Oregon’s Rural Health Transformation Program with U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services project officers Stephanie Magill and Summer Puckett on July 15 in Hood River, Oregon, while OHA Office of Health Policy Director Stephanie Jarem (far right) listens.
Credit: Danielle Ross/Oregon Health Authority (OHA)
THE DALLES — Last week, representatives from Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services visited the Columbia Gorge to learn more about local efforts to improve rural healthcare.
At a stop during a three-day tour of Oregon, the nonprofit Columbia Gorge Health Council met with state and federal representatives on July 14 in The Dalles and July 15 in Hood River. During the visit, the organization described how a $618,000 grant is helping expand Connected Care for Older Adults, a program that provides in-home support to older adults so they can maintain their independence and avoid health crises.
Dr. Jodi Ready, an internal medicine physician and a member of the nonprofit Columbia Gorge Health Council’s board, holds up a map of Oregon with colorful arrows that mark where the Connected Care for Older Adults home-visiting program operates. Dr. Ready and other Columbia Gorge Health Council representatives met with state and federal health officials on July 14, in The Dalles to discuss how a $618,000 federal Rural Health Transformation Program grant will enable them to help more rural seniors.
Credit: Danielle Ross/Oregon Health Authority (OHA)
Columbia Gorge Health Council is one of many rural-serving organizations receiving support from the federal Rural Health Transformation Program, which will distribute a total of $50 billion nationwide between 2026-2030. The new program was created by U.S. House Resolution 1, a federal tax and spending bill that became law in July 2025. Oregon is receiving a total of $197.3 million in 2026. If Oregon is awarded similar amounts in future years, the state could receive a total of $1 billion throughout the federal program’s five years.
About the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP)
The Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) was established through H.R.1, the federal budget reconciliation bill signed into law on July 4, 2025. In addition to introducing long-term changes to Medicaid and SNAP funding, H.R.1 created this five-year program to support rural health system transformation across the United States.
The program is administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and will provide funding to selected states from Federal Fiscal Year 2026 through 2030. All 50 states were eligible to apply. To be considered for funding, states were required to submit a comprehensive application, aligning with the Federal Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) by Nov. 5, 2025.
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