Oregon’s rural communities bring local knowledge, strong skills, and a focus on progress to our state. Oregon Health Authority (OHA) continues to invest in projects that help people living in rural communities get the care they need close to home. With new federal funding from the Rural Health Transformation Program, local partners across the state will lead solutions that improve health, support families, and strengthen the rural health care workforce.
More funding for rural health across Oregon
OHA is awarding about $97.1 million more in federal funding to support rural health and wellbeing. These grants will fund 136 new projects in every Oregon county. Including these new grants, Oregon has now awarded a total of about $175.3 million through this program so far this year
Gov. Tina Kotek says the strong demand for this funding shows the level of need across the state. These awards come at a time when Oregon’s healthcare system is facing major federal funding cuts. Even so, the governor says she is pleased to move these dollars quickly to projects that support maternal and child health, behavioral health workers, and safety-net providers.
What these grants will support
Oregon’s Rural Health Transformation Program efforts focus on community-led projects that:
- Improve access to healthcare in rural areas
- Increase the number of health professionals serving rural communities
- Use data and technology to strengthen care
- Build long-term, regional partnerships to support continual improvement
OHA Director Dr. Sejal Hathi says rural communities know their needs best, and this funding is designed to help them strengthen local services, expand their workforce, and remove barriers to care.
OHA is offering awards through two major funding pools
Catalyst Award Grants
- About $80.1 million total this year
- Given to 85 organizations leading 103 projects
- Projects will address maternal and child health, mental health and substance use, aging in place, and chronic disease.
- Will support every Oregon county
Immediate Impact Awards
- $17 million for 33 new shovel-ready projects this year
- Builds on $6.5 million awarded in April for 12 earlier projects.
- Projects include expanding mobile health units, creating a new family medicine residency program, and connecting patients with healthy foods to help manage diet-related conditions.
OHA’s Health Policy & Analytics Director Clare Pierce-Wrobel notes that while the Rural Health Transformation Program funding is small compared to recent federal Medicaid cuts, these grants can make a major difference for individual organizations doing essential work in rural Oregon.
More details coming this summer
Organizations have been selected, and maximum award amounts are set, but exact grant totals will be finalized through award negotiations that will happen this summer. More information about award recipients is available by selecting “awards” on the Rural Health Transformation Program homepage.
This is the largest round of awards since the program started in late 2025. Earlier funding has included:
- $35 million for rural hospitals
- $21.7 million for the Tribal Initiative, designed with the Nine Federally Recognized Tribes of Oregon
- $10 million for rural health clinics
- $5 million for local public health authorities
A federal-state partnership supporting rural health
The Rural Health Transformation Program was created in July 2025 through U.S. House Resolution 1. While the law reduces federal funding for Oregon programs like Medicaid and food benefits, it also created this new federal investment in rural health. CMS will distribute $50 billion nationally between 2026 and 2031.
Oregon will receive $197.3 million in 2026 and could receive similar amounts through 2030, up to about $1 billion. The federal government will evaluate Oregon’s progress in improve rural healthcare when determining how much additional funding the state could receive in future years.
Through this program, OHA continues to invest in projects that expand access to care, improve chronic disease prevention, grow the rural healthcare workforce, and support the use of new technologies and data in rural and remote areas.
These awards show what Oregon can accomplish when communities lead the way. Local partners across rural Oregon are stepping up with new ideas that make healthcare stronger, more accessible, and more responsive to community needs. With steady investment and continued collaboration, these projects can help improve community health for years to come.