The Trump Administration announced a $4.8 million investment in West Virginia's rural health care system through the Rural Health Transformation Program. The funding aims to strengthen the state's health care workforce and expand access to primary, behavioral, maternal, emergency, specialty, and preventive care services in rural areas.
The announcement comprises two funding awards of $2.4 million each. One award supports a statewide recruitment and relocation program for licensed health care professionals to address workforce shortages in rural communities, with a first-year goal of recruiting at least 125 licensed professionals. The second award, delivered through West Virginia's Health to Prosperity initiative, will expand worksite clinics and employer-based health care services to bolster preventive care and health screenings.
"President Trump understands that every American deserves high-quality healthcare, no matter where they live," said Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "We are putting resources directly into rural communities to strengthen the health workforce, modernize infrastructure, expand access, and bring care closer to home."
The funding was made possible through the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, which authorized a historic $50 billion investment to help states transform health care delivery. The announcement also indicated additional funding opportunities to support medical transportation services, telehealth options, home dialysis access, and care navigation services for rural West Virginians.