Charleston Gazette-Mail - While the United States is a low-tax country compared to most industrialized nations, for a majority of Americans it doesn’t feel this way. That’s largely because private health insurance companies receive a large portion of our income every month. If we sent our money to a publicly run health insurance plan (e.g. Medicare)…
Health
If the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a lower court’s decision, the entirety of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) could be invalidated (though it would almost assuredly go before the Supreme Court for a final decision before action is taken). Twenty million Americans, including 162,000 West Virginians, stand to lose their health care coverage…
Washington Post - WVCBP Director of Policy Engagement Kelly Allen is quoted in this Washington Post article on how West Virginians have been losing coverage and enrollment in the Obamacare marketplace since 2017. One of the reasons may be because West Virginia is one of just three states banning "silver loading" which, if allowed, would…
The Affordable Care Act has been an undeniable success in West Virginia, both in terms of insuring our residents and boosting our economy. Unfortunately, since 2017, our uninsured rate has increased and enrollment in the ACA marketplace has declined sharply. This is likely due to several factors, including reduced Medicaid participation and confusion over the…
Earlier this year, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma and the Trump Administration began encouraging states to apply for “block grant” waivers for their Medicaid programs. These waivers would allow states to bypass federal standards and beneficiary protections in exchange for agreeing to caps on the federal Medicaid funding they receive.…
On September 16, 2019 Executive Director Ted Boettner presented to a coalition on how to pay for Medicaid for All. The presentation explored several studies on the financing and distributional impact of Medicare for All proposals. View presentation.
Everyone gets sick, but not everyone gets paid time off work to get better. Nearly half of West Virginia’s private sector workers, 46 percent, lacks paid sick leave, and people of color and low-income workers are the least likely to have access to this benefit. This means that those who have the most to lose by…
A new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) finds that 348 lives were saved since West Virginia expanded Medicaid in 2014. The study compares death rates of the near-elderly - those between the ages of 55 and 64 - in states that have and have not expanded Medicaid and finds that in…
Proposals to force people who do not report a set number of hours worked per month would cause thousands of West Virginians to lose their Medicaid health coverage. The vast majority would become uninsured. This would lead to poorer health outcomes, more financial insecurity for low-income people, and reduced revenues for hospitals while raising health…
This past legislative session, the House introduced House Bill 3136 that directed the WV DHHR to apply for a Section 1115 waiver to implement Medicaid work reporting requirements on all non-elderly adults in enrolled in the program. If enacted, and approved from the federal government (CMS), it would force thousands of people who do not…