In case you missed it: April 17 Local Government Advisory Committee (LGAC) on Health and Human Services (Meeting recording; Chat transcript)
Rural Health Initiatives; Catalyst Grant Applications Due May 26
The Office of Rural Health kicked off the April 17 LGAC meeting with an update on Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Workforce Recruitment and Retention/Mobile Integrated Health Programs in Rural Communities. Oregon’s 2024-2029 federal grant provides annual scholarships for EMS education, barrier removal for students, billing and coding workshops, leadership training, and other workforce development and retention costs. A new four-year ($250,000/year) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant will support the Rural Oregon Mobile Integrated Health Program consortium, including technical assistance to expand mobile integrated service capacity to more rural communities.
The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) provided an update on the rollout of the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) which is slated to receive about $200 million in federal grant funds per year for the next five years. “Rural” is defined as “outside a 10-mile radius of a 40,000+ population center.”
Of note for counties, up to 80 competitive Phase I (FY 2026-2027) “Catalyst” grants will be awarded this summer, ranging from $200,000 to $499,000. Applications are due May 26 at 3 p.m. PST. Additionally, the Conference of Local Health Officials this month approved a carve out in the RHTP for local public health programs to support rural health transformation program goals.
2026 Legislative Session Debriefs with ODHS and OHA
Agency staff provided post-session summaries from the Oregon Health Authority and the Oregon Department of Human Services.
Oregon Medicaid Benefits and Payments Reform
Dr. Bruce Goldberg provided an update on the governor’s Medicaid sustainability workgroup. The workgroup is currently deliberating toward a set of recommendations to mitigate the destabilizing effects of H.R.1 on Medicaid enrollment and funding, including an estimated loss of $3.4 billion in federal funds in the 2027-2029 biennium. Goldberg noted that the starting principle is to maintain enrollment, which means the remaining levers for closing the funding gap are benefits and provider payments. Ideas under consideration include strategic investments in housing to lower hospital utilization and cost containment via reduction of administrative burden.
The workgroup has identified cost drivers to be increased hospital and drug prices and increased utilization of behavioral health services, though a more precise analysis of the behavioral health utilization by provider type (out-of-state telehealth, in-state private providers, and community mental health program services, etc.) is needed. Community mental health program directors offered solutions, including greater capitalization on Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics for enhanced funding and cost containment, reduction of administrative burden to increase local service capacity and correcting OHA’s interpretation of the federal Institution for Mental Diseases (IMD) exclusion which is currently leading to treatment facility closure and preventing newly funded facilities from opening.
Workgroup members include hospitals, Federally Qualified Health Centers, Coordinated Care Organizations, physician and labor representatives, but no representatives from a local mental health authority or a local public health authority. This is surprising in light of the crucial role that community mental health programs and local public health programs play in bending the state’s health care cost curve and serving the most at risk Oregonians.
A public comment period will open after the final report is submitted to the governor in June, with the stated purpose of informing the governor’s recommended budget. LGAC is slated to invite the governor’s staff to its July 24 meeting to provide local system partner perspectives and recommendations on that work.
Upcoming Topics for Spring and Summer LGAC Meetings
Also slated for this spring and summer at the LGAC are discussions with the Department of Housing and Community Services on housing and homeless services programs coordination and operations, with the ODHS Office of Resilience and Emergency Management on preparation for the upcoming wildfire season, with OHA and ODHS on operationalizing new Medicaid eligibility requirements, and with OHA on the future of Public Health Modernization and coordinated communicable disease prevention and response.
Contributed by: Jessica Pratt | Legislative Affairs Manager