Bill > SB995

This bill mandates that the Secretary of Health provide regular, detailed reports to the West Virginia Legislature and the Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability regarding the Rural Health Transformation (RHT) Program. The RHT Program, administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), aims to improve healthcare in rural areas across the United States by enhancing access, quality, and outcomes, and is set to run from fiscal year 2026 to 2030. West Virginia has received approximately $200 million for this program in fiscal year 2026, and this bill seeks to oversee both current and future funding. The required reports, starting April 1, 2026, and submitted monthly, must include an itemized budget with total funding, expenditures, and encumbered amounts, a list of paid vendors, details on programs developed with RHT funding, anticipated and achieved outcomes, and the specific data variables being tracked for each new program. The bill also includes a section on legislative findings, highlighting West Virginia's poor health statistics, such as low life expectancy, high obesity and smoking rates, and a severe overdose crisis, to provide context for the necessity of the RHT Program and its oversight.

Budget and Finance

http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/Bills_history.cfm?input=995&year=2026&sessiontype=RS&btype=bill