Oct. 9, 2025
Salem – The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation (DFR) recently hired Sarah Young as the executive director of the Prescription Drug Affordability Board and the Drug Price Transparency Program.
Young was the director of the policy and research division in the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) in the Health Resources and Services Administration since 2023. As director, she managed a division of 17 people conducting FORHP's policy analysis, data analysis, research, and rural residency development efforts. Young's past work in FORHP has included managing Rural Health Clinic COVID-19 response programs, analyzing rural hospital and Critical Access Hospital (CAH) policy, tracking nationwide rural hospital closures, and coordinating the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program focused on improving CAH quality of care and operational efficiency.
“We were very fortunate to get someone with Sarah's expertise and experience who wanted to come back to Oregon," said TK Keen, DFR administrator and acting insurance commissioner. “Sarah is going to be a great leader for not just the board, but also our Drug Price Transparency Program."
Young was born and raised in eastern Oregon and holds an master's in public health from Portland State University. She has worked for the federal government since 2011 through the Presidential Management Fellows Program. Young started at DFR on Oct. 6.
In addition to a new executive director, the board welcomed a new member, Michele Yoder, to fill a vacancy. Yoder is currently the pharmacy director for the Multnomah County Health Department. She is a past pharmacist member of the Oregon Pain Management Commission (2013-2021) and the Oregon Health Resources Commission. The board also confirmed the reappointments of Dan Hartung, Chrstopher Laman, and Dan Kennedy.
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About Oregon DFR: The Division of Financial Regulation protects consumers and regulates insurance, depository institutions, trust companies, securities, and consumer financial products and services. The division is part of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, Oregon's largest consumer protection and business regulatory agency. Visit
dfr.oregon.gov and
dcbs.oregon.gov.