Senate Health Bill (BCRA) Would Hit West Virginia Hardest

While it is unclear what version of the legislation the U.S. Senate will plan to take up on Tuesday (7/25) when they vote to proceed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the revised version of the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) would be particularly harmful to West Virginians.

An updated report from the national Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shows that West Virginia would be among the hardest hit states in the nation. Not only would the number of uninsured West Virginians grow by nearly 300 percent – the largest increase in the nation (See Map) – but it would reduce federal Medicaid/CHIP spending by half or $1.8 billion by 2022. Last-ditch efforts by Senate leadership to offer more money to Medicaid expansion states won’t fix this bill either. Below is a quick summary of BCRA’s impact on West Virginia and here’s a one-page fact sheet.

West Virginia Would Sustain Huge Coverage Losses

• 211,000 West Virginians would lose coverage by 2022 if BCRA is passed.
• The BCRA would increase West Virginia’s non-elderly uninsured rate from five percent to over 19 percent, a 299 percent increase, more than any other state.
• 1 out-of-seven non-elderly West Virginians who would have coverage under the ACA would lose it because of the BCRA.

West Virginia’s Medicaid and CHIP Programs Would Be Cut in Half

• The BCRA would cut West Virginia’s CHIP program by 47 percent by 2022 (compared to 26 percent nationally)
• The number of people enrolled in Medicaid would fall by more than half by 2022, or 263,000 people.

 BCRA Would Drastically Increase West Virginia’s Costs to Maintain Medicaid Expansion

• The state’s cost to maintain expansion would rise by 50 percent by 2021, 100 percent by 2022, and 150 percent by 2023.

 BCRA Would Make Access to Substance Use Disorder Treatment Less Available

• West Virginia has the highest drug overdose death rate in 2015.
• The share of West Virginians with substance use or mental health disorders who were hospitalized but uninsured fell from 23 percent in 2013 to five percent in 2014.
• Rolling back expansion would roll back coverage for the 33 percent of West Virginia expansion enrollees who used mental health or substance use disorder services in 2014.