WV SB995

Requires the Secretary of Health to submit monthly written reports on the Rural Health Transformation (RHT) Program to the Senate President, House Speaker, and Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability, beginning April 1, 2026

Reports must include itemized budget details (total funding, expenditures, encumbered amounts), list of vendors paid, programs developed, and outcomes achieved with RHT funding

The RHT Program is a federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services initiative running from fiscal year 2026 through 2030, with West Virginia awarded approximately $200 million in fiscal year 2026

Legislative findings cite West Virginia ranking 49th in overall health status, having the nation's highest adult obesity rate, highest smoking rate, and deadliest overdose crisis with rural rates twice the national average

McDowell County residents have a life expectancy 11 years below the national average, and rural West Virginia life expectancy is approximately 2.5 years below the national average