Southern West Virginia News

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Carol Miller (R-WV), Congressman Alex Mooney (R-WV), and U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) have written to Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Administrator Carole Johnson, urging the inclusion of terrain factors in the definition of rural areas. This classification determines communities’ eligibility for certain federal health care resources.

"West Virginia is the only state that lies completely within the Appalachian Mountain region. It also has a higher mean elevation than any state in the east," the lawmakers wrote. "We appreciate HRSA’s work to better account for difficult and mountainous terrain areas in the definition of rural for purposes of Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) grant eligibility. These funds are instrumental to providing access to quality health care and support health professionals in rural communities across the country."

The letter emphasized that including terrain factors would better capture rugged terrain areas, benefiting Critical Access Hospitals, health centers, clinics, and other health providers eligible for FORHP grants.

"This critical addition to HRSA’s proposal to include terrain factors in their definition of rural to be eligible for FORHP grants is important to better capture rugged terrain areas," they continued. "We urge you to take Congressional intent into account and adopt our suggestion to address high density of rugged areas. We look forward to continue working with you to improve health care access and quality across rural America."

Click here to read the full letter.