Rural Health Transformation Application Now Online

With the passage of the federal government’s One Big Beautiful Bill over the summer, and the cuts to Medicare and Medicaid that came with it, it was estimated West Virginia would lose as much as $1 billion a year – putting rural hospitals in danger of closing. 

To make up for some of that loss, the bill also created the Rural Health Transformation Fund. It comes with $100 million a year for five years for each state, but some states will receive more based on the strength of their applications.

The application was developed through public input, roundtables, and a statewide tele-townhall with more than 17,000 participants.

The Rural Health Transformation plan focuses on seven key areas:

• Connected Care Grid: Build the infrastructure to bring virtual and in-person care access to people on-demand.
• Rural Health Link: Transport West Virginians to care when it’s needed.
• Mountain State Care Force: Recruit, train, and retain the healthcare workforce of the future.
• Provide support for rural providers to move to value-based payment models.
• Health to Prosperity Pipeline: Help West Virginians rebuild health, rejoin the workforce, and thrive in their communities.
• Personal Health Accelerator: Empower healthy living through food as medicine, movement, and local partnerships.
• HealthTech Appalachia: Incubate leapfrog technologies that innovate healthcare delivery and unlock economic growth.

More information on these seven initiatives can be found here. 

A final response from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is expected before the end of the month. 

Read the application summary here.

View the application materials here.