Federal policymakers are considering enacting work reporting requirements and other spending reductions for Medicaid in the new Congress.[1] Cuts to Medicaid and other federal programs would have a disproportionately harmful impact in West Virginia, which funds a larger share of its budget through federal dollars than most states. Proposals to reduce federal funding for programs…
Health
Charleston Gazette-Mail, Huntington Herald-Dispatch - Two numbers will loom over the West Virginia legislative session that resumes Wednesday: 37 and 47. Read the full article. New Gov. Patrick Morrisey is West Virginia’s 37th governor. West Virginia ranked 47th nationally in economic well-being in a 2024 assessment of state trends in child welfare from a prominent…
Beckley Register-Herald - The last two West Virginia governors, including the newly minted one, Patrick Morrisey, who has been in the job for a little more than a turn of the screw, have had a difficult time leveling with the people of this poor state, especially when it comes to the health of the state…
Federal dollars support a wide array of public services and systems that touch the lives of all West Virginians — from health care and food assistance to child care and public schools. Under both the Trump Administration and Congress, many of these programs are being considered for deep cuts or significant reductions — in large…
Parkersburg News and Sentinel, Wheeling Intelligencer, Inter-Mountain - The West Virginia chapter of a conservative grassroots advocacy organization that spent money and manpower on behalf of the state’s new Republican governor and other GOP leaders now hopes their legislative agenda will receive a warm welcome, though opposition remains. Read the full article. The West Virginia…
West Virginia families deserve healthy and safe birthing outcomes, but moms and babies are currently facing significant health challenges. While much discussion is rightly focused on mortality rates, deaths are only the tip of the iceberg of infant and maternal health and well-being. Birthing complications, including pre-term births and caesarian sections, incur a significant cost…
Black By God: The West Virginian - I walked the thick, white marble hallways of the West Virginia State Capitol for years as a lobbyist. My journey into policy work began out of frustration during the 2014 West Virginia Water Crisis and the fight for the Aboveground Storage Tank Bill. The process felt foreign—because it…
West Virginia News - The annual Kids Count Data Book was recently published, highlighting where each state ranks in terms of child well-being. Read the full article. As a whole, West Virginia placed 44th in the nation after looking at data in categories including education, health, economy and family and community. The study helps officials…
West Virginia Watch, Postindustrial, Times West Virginian - Health care advocates from West Virginia have joined with thousands of physicians and public health professionals around the country in asking the U.S. Senate to reject President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Robert Kennedy Jr. as head of the federal Department of Health and Human Services. Read the…
Overview Read the full fact sheet. Federal policymakers are reportedly considering enacting work reporting requirements for Medicaid in the new Congress. Similar state-level policy led to disastrous consequences in Arkansas in 2018-19 until a federal judge blocked the program. Enacting an Arkansas-style work reporting requirement at the federal level would result in West Virginia’s health…