JAHF Briefing Recording: Opportunities to Transform Care for Rural Older Adults
The John A. Hartford Foundation held a virtual, nonpartisan briefing on March 24 on how state and federal policymakers can use the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) to create sustainable, age-friendly health care. The recording and slides from the briefing are now available.
Older adults living in rural areas have long struggled to access age-friendly health care and the community-based support required to age with health and dignity. The RHTP was created by H.R.1 in 2025 to improve rural health care access, quality and outcomes across the country. While rural providers will face daunting challenges with H.R.1’s Medicaid cuts, the RHTP presents an opportunity to weave age-friendly care into the fabric of rural communities through durable investments, initiatives and reforms that can be built upon.
The discussion included:
- A brief overview of rural aging across America
- What the RHTP is, how it’s structured and how it directs states to use funds
- How states and providers are using funds to expand access to age-friendly care
- What policymakers can do to enhance, expand and monitor access to rural age-friendly care
Speakers included:
- Alan Morgan, MPA, CEO, National Rural Health Association (NRHA)
- Julie Foster Hagan, MEd, MBA, Executive Director, Office of Rural Health Transformation and Sustainability, Louisiana Department of Health
- Elizabeth Foster, MD, Clinical and Policy Advisor, Connected Care for Older Adults
- Rani E. Snyder, MPA, President, JAHF (moderator)
McKnight's Home Care published an overview of the briefing with some key takeaways.
Watch the recording here:
Access the resources from the briefing:
- CMS.gov: Rural Health Transformation Program - Overview
- NRHA: Advocacy - Rural Health Transformation Program
- NRHA blog: Incorporating Age-Friendly Strategies Into the Rural Health Transformation Program
- NRHA resources hub page: Implementing RHTP with a Rural Aging Lens
- NASHP: Rural Health Transformation Program - State Focus on Aging
- State contacts: View state officials and offices coordinating RHTP funding
Watch the briefing recording.
Download the briefing slides.
Read H.R.1.
Learn more about the RHTP.
