Gov. Morrisey Urges Lawmakers to Authorize $199 Million in Rural Health Funding

With the West Virginia legislative session set to expire Saturday at midnight, Gov. Patrick Morrisey stood before healthcare professionals and leaders from across the state Tuesday to demand lawmakers move immediately on legislation authorizing $199 million in federal funding for a sweeping rural health overhaul.

"West Virginia has been given a historic opportunity to strengthen rural healthcare," Morrisey said. "We already have the funding and we already have the plan. What we need now is legislative authorization so we can put these resources to work for the people of West Virginia."

The money would launch the state's Rural Health Transformation Program, a multi-pronged initiative targeting some of the most persistent gaps in rural care. Specific priorities include expanding telehealth services, recruiting and retaining providers in underserved communities, modernizing medical technology, improving care coordination for chronic disease and behavioral health, stabilizing rural hospitals, and improving patient transportation networks. The governor warned that without legislative action before the March 14 deadline, critical improvements to those services could be delayed or lost.

For McDowell County, where access to specialists, behavioral health services, and reliable medical transportation have long been chronic obstacles to care, the program's stated priorities map directly onto conditions residents face. Telehealth expansion and rural hospital stabilization in particular carry significant weight in a county that has seen healthcare infrastructure erode over decades.

Morrisey delivered his appeal for the Rural Health Transformation Program as part of a broader press conference in Bridgeport, where he also pressed lawmakers to adopt his proposed state budget. That budget includes a five percent income tax cut and full funding for the Hope Scholarship, a program that allows families to access educational opportunities outside traditional public schools. Morrisey argued the House's proposed budget omits several programs legally mandated for funding.

"There's room for a tax cut. We've budgeted it. There's room for fully funding HOPE. We've budgeted it," Morrisey said. "I will fight for things I believe in. And I'm not going to just stand by and watch different things change."

The governor also signaled that additional announcements related to statewide projects are expected later this week or early next week, though he did not specify whether those announcements are tied to the Rural Health Transformation Program.

The $199 million figure, described in some reports as nearly double the guaranteed minimum allocation for the first year of the program, represents secured federal funding that state officials say is already in hand. The remaining obstacle is a legislative authorization bill that must clear both chambers before the session closes Saturday night.