Porch Light Health Awarded $6.6 Million Through Colorado Rural Health Transformation Program

First-year funding will expand coordinated addiction care, improve telehealth access, and support rural peer workforce development

DENVER, Oct. 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Porch Light Health has been awarded $6,623,827 in first-year funding through Colorado’s Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) to expand access to addiction treatment and strengthen coordinated care in rural communities.

The funding is part of nearly $170 million in RHTP grants directed by the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing (HCPF) to rural healthcare providers across Colorado. Funded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), these investments will help protect access to care and support better health outcomes in Colorado’s rural and frontier communities.

“This is a historic moment for Porch Light Health and for the rural communities we serve,” said Doug Weiss, CEO of Porch Light Health. “Our teams have spent years showing up in communities where getting care can mean a long drive, limited local options, or nowhere obvious to turn. This investment gives us the opportunity to build on that work and make treatment easier to reach and easier to stay with.”

Strengthening coordinated care

Approximately $2.56 million will support Porch Light Health’s Whole Person Health project in Alamosa, Cañon City, Durango, Steamboat Springs and Sterling. The project will add patient navigation and strengthen coordination among addiction treatment, behavioral health, psychiatric care, infectious disease services and community resources. It will also expand outpatient withdrawal management and improve access to on-site Hepatitis C confirmatory testing and treatment.

Patient-centered research will examine how rural residents seek treatment, navigate services and experience barriers to care. Porch Light Health will use those findings to shape services, communications and support around the needs of each community.

Creating a more connected telehealth experience

Approximately $3.79 million will support a telehealth project serving La Junta, Salida, Sterling, Walsenburg and Granby. Porch Light Health will build on its existing technology to connect the steps involved in finding care, scheduling appointments, completing intake, receiving treatment, accessing medications, and staying engaged between visits.

Plans include direct patient access to its MAT-on-Demand pathway, more personalized support between appointments, at-home toxicology testing for clinically appropriate patients, and development of an integrated pharmacy or telepharmacy model. Patient research will guide the design and continued improvement of the virtual care experience. Staff will remain available to assist people who prefer phone support or face technology and connectivity barriers.

Supporting the rural peer workforce

The remaining $281,382 will support North Colorado Health Alliance’s (NCHA) expansion of its Peer Workforce Center of Excellence in Sterling and Logan County. Porch Light Health applied on behalf of NCHA, which will lead and implement the project. The initiative will help rural peer support professionals obtain and maintain credentials, develop their careers and leadership skills, and remain in the workforce.

The projects are designed as part of a five-year effort. The announced award provides first-year funding; future-year activities and funding will be subject to the program’s requirements and approvals.

“Every day, our staff help patients work through the real barriers that stand between needing care and receiving it,” Weiss said. “Their work built the experience and reputation behind these proposals. We’re proud of what this award makes possible, and even prouder of the people who brought us to this point.”

Colorado is directing $169,587,181 in RHTP grants to rural healthcare providers across the state. Through a highly competitive application process, 91 applicants and approximately 250 projects were selected to receive funding across 52 rural or frontier counties and three rural census tract counties.

A complete list of Colorado Rural Health Transformation Program awardees and additional information about RHTP is available on the RHTP website.

About Porch Light Health

Porch Light Health provides low-barrier, high-access outpatient treatment for substance use disorders and related medical conditions at more than 60 locations across Colorado and New Mexico. Services include medications for addiction treatment, behavioral health and psychiatric care, infectious disease treatment, and lab services. Porch Light Health serves people with opioid, alcohol, stimulant, sedative, nicotine, cannabis and other substance use disorders and co-occurring disorders.

About the Rural Health Transformation Program

The Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) is a five-year federal initiative administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) designed to strengthen healthcare access and improve health outcomes in rural and frontier communities. The program supports investments in workforce development, innovative care models, technology-enabled services, and health system sustainability. The program was authorized under Section 71401 of H.R. 1 (Public Law 119-21) to provide grants totaling $50 billion in federal funding nationwide from Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2026 through FFY 2030.

From the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Colorado’s award totals $200,105,604.17 for the first year of the program to support rural health transformation efforts across the state, and is 100% funded by CMS. The contents of this release are those of Porch Light Health and the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, CMS/HHS or the U.S. Government.

Media Contact

Jen Marnowski
Porch Light Health
jmarnowski@gmail.com
404-309-1137