This publication is part one of a two-part series outlining federal changes to the ACA Marketplace. In July, Congress passed a sweeping budget reconciliation bill that cements the largest cuts to health care and food security in US history. Supported by all four members of West Virginia’s Congressional delegation, these cuts will impact families, communities, and the…
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In March 2022, a group of state employees beat Quantez Burks to death inside Southern Regional Jail. Three years later, eight former correctional officers have been sentenced to a combined 105 years behind bars for their roles in his death. They will serve these 105 years in a federal prison system that–like the state system…
In FY 2025, West Virginia saw declines in state tax collections for the second year in a row. Coupled with declining gross domestic product (GDP) and anemic job growth, the numbers paint a stark picture for the state's economy, particularly amid a slowing national economy and significant federal policy changes set to shift hundreds of…
The enactment of H.R. 1, the Budget Reconciliation Bill, supported by all four members of West Virginia’s Congressional Delegation, cements the largest cuts to Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food assistance in our nation’s history. While the legislation was federal, the effects will be hyper-local, impacting families, food pantries, and health care clinics, as…
Funding is essential to the operation and performance of public schools. Without adequate funding and resources, public schools are forced to maximize the limited amount that they do have. This often results in staffing cuts, programming cuts, and school closures and consolidations to keep the district operational. The current approach to school funding in West…
West Virginia’s Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) provides health coverage to state and local government employees as well as public school educators and staff, with total employee enrollment of about 75,000 active members and over 200,000 enrollees once counting dependent family members and retirees. With the start of the new PEIA plan year this week, those…
While West Virginia's overall employment growth has been stagnant over the past year, one area of the economy that has seen continued growth is the health care sector. In fact, while total nonfarm employment in the state has fallen by 6,000 jobs over the past decade, employment in the health care and social assistance sector…
Public schools across the Mountain State have been working to overcome challenges to high-quality and equitable public education including declining student enrollment, insufficient funding, and diversion of funding and resources to the Hope Scholarship. With little progress made to address these challenges during the regular legislative session, school districts have been forced to resort to…
Earlier this month the U.S. House of Representatives passed a major new tax and spending bill that not only represents the largest cuts to Medicaid and SNAP in history, taking away SNAP and Medicaid benefits from millions of recipients including tens of thousands in West Virginia, but also includes tax provisions that would overwhelmingly favor…
At the end of 2024, Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Maryclaire Akers made a notable request to local lawyers. In a message circulated by the West Virginia State Bar, Judge Akers described a “crisis” brewing in Kanawha County courtrooms: there were not enough lawyers willing to accept court appointments. In tens of thousands of cases…