Poor oral health is widespread in West Virginia. It significantly affects the employability of our workforce, contributes to higher emergency room utilization, and is often both an indicator of and a contributor to other chronic health conditions. According to a 2014 report, only 40 percent of West Virginians have dental insurance.[1] While Medicaid expansion has…
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All SPI sessions unless otherwise noted will take place over the Zoom video conferencing platform. Prior to the SPI Conference please make a free Zoom account at Zoom.us, and if possible, download the Zoom app for whatever device you’re planning on using to access the meeting. If you are unable to download the app, a…
In 2012, SB 532/HB 4387 was introduced requiring all West Virginia voters to present official government-issued photo identification in order to vote. The Voter ID law was reintroduced for the 2013 legislative session (SB 13/HB 2215). Based on national data and the experiences of other states, it is estimated that the implementation costs of a…
SPI 2022 THEME: Growing a West Virginia that Works for Everyone July 28–30, 2022 The 2020 Census results revealed that West Virginia experienced more population loss than any other state in the nation between 2010 and 2020. During this year’s SPI, we will create space for our participants to explore what it might take to…
“Right-to-Work” laws do not guarantee jobs for workers. Instead they prohibit unions and employers from including a provision in contracts that requires employees who benefit from union representation to pay for their fair share toward those costs. PDF of Fast Facts. Some state lawmakers argue that if West Virginia adopted a so-called “right-to-work” (RTW) law…
Want to be healthier and live longer? Then you might want to move to Aspen, Colorado, home of the healthiest county in the U.S. You'll also want to avoid our own McDowell County, one of the least healthy counties in the country. Every year, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Population Health Institute at…
The passage of the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) included a little-heralded provision to permit states to expand coverage of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to children of public employees. So far, at least seven states have benefited from allowing public employees to enroll their children in CHIP. If West Virginia were to adopt…
Nearly 130,000 West Virginia parents and other adults could get health insurance through an expansion of Medicaid to allow more working families to participate, as outlined in the law. Expansion promises to lower costs for hospitals that treat large numbers of patients without insurance, costs which now add up to more than $700 million in…
After hearing from the coal industry about their desire for cut in the severance tax, SB 705 was quickly introduced and sped through the Senate Finance Committee on Monday, and is already on 2nd reading in the Senate today. In its current form, the bill cuts the severance tax on coal from 5% to 4%…
350,000 low-income people in West Virginia will see their food assistance cut when a temporary boost to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) expires November 1, new data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) show. SNAP benefits will average only about $1.40 per person per meal after the cut.…