New Department Of Health Secretary Announces Initiatives

While he was appointed to the role in January, West Virginia’s new Secretary of the Department of Health (DH) was sworn into office on Friday and announced goals for his tenure in an afternoon press release.

Dr. Arvin Singh said in a release that his goal as secretary is to improve health outcomes and increase efficiency in the state’s health department. He plans to “embrace innovative tools like artificial intelligence (AI),” to modernize health services, reduce costs and improve the timeliness of care delivery.

“Our goal is to create a healthier, more resilient West Virginia where every individual has the opportunity to thrive,” Singh said. “To do that, we must embrace innovative tools like AI to enhance efficiency, reduce barriers to care, and tackle the chronic health conditions impacting our communities.”

America’s Health Rankings, which is operated by the United Health Foundation, ranked West Virginia’s health 45th in the nation in 2023, the organization’s most recent available data.

The report measures social and economic factors, physical environment, behaviors, clinical care and health outcomes to determine rank. In the 2023 report, Oklahoma returned to the bottom five, replacing West Virginia.

According to America’s Health Rankings, the five least healthy states in 2023 were Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Alabama. The healthiest states were New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut and Minnesota.

West Virginia’s struggle with mental and physical health has made national headlines for decades. In a 2020 study on health disparities in the Appalachian region, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) found the average adult in West Virginia reports feeling physically and mentally unhealthy about 30 percent more often than the average American.

Singh also hopes to increase healthier food options statewide to prevent and reduce chronic conditions with proper nutrition.

“Our focus must be holistic and forward-looking,” Singh said. “From embracing AI-driven efficiencies and ensuring equal access to care and nutritious food to reevaluating departmental policies, every effort must work toward building a healthier West Virginia.”

West Virginia’s Certificate of Need (CON) process is also under Singh’s microscope. Before being sworn in, Singh testified in favor of a bill to eliminate the CON process in a legislative committee.

CON is a regulatory process, overseen by the West Virginia Health Care Authority (WVHCA), that requires providers who want to create or expand healthcare services to obtain legal documentation proving those new services fit an unmet need in the area.

House Bill 2007 aimed to repeal the CON process and terminate the WVHCA, leaving those decisions to the incoming secretary of the Department of Health, Singh and Attorney General John “JB” McCuskey.

On Feb. 24, Singh testified before the House’s Health and Human Resources Committee.

“By putting CON decisions in the hands of bureaucrats, we are artificially inflating costs and determining winners or losers, leading to negative impacts to patient care,” Singh said. “This must change, and that starts with the repeal of CON laws and the Health Care Authority.”

Singh argued that repealing West Virginia’s CON laws would allow for new providers to offer more services without government regulation, which he and other proponents of repealing the law say would allow for competition in the healthcare industry, possibly leading to innovation.

House Bill 2007 has not left its committee since the public hearing. A similar bill, Senate Bill 453 has also been stuck in committee since Feb. 13, 2025.

In Friday’s release, Singh said his approach is to re-evaluate the CON process to ensure it helps increase access to care and encourage innovation while building a healthier community.

Singh also said he is committed to improving Emergency Medical Service (EMS) access to ensure residents, especially rural residents, have timely access to emergency services.

Singh replaced former DH Secretary, Dr. Sherri Young.