West Virginia Public Broadcasting - Medicaid provides free or low-cost health coverage to low-income people, families and children, pregnant women, the elderly and people with disabilities. Read the full article. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), West Virginia has the highest percentage of Medicaid enrollment in the U.S., with more than 564,000 people enrolled, or 29…
Health
West Virginia Watch, News from the States - Over the past year, as the programs returned to pre-pandemic eligibility rules, more than 200,000 West Virginians were removed from the Medicaid or the Child Health Insurance Program, state data shows. Read the full article. The vast majority of those disenrollments — 79% — were due to a procedural reason like…
West Virginia MetroNews - Lawmakers asked a range of questions about the state’s level of funding for human services, building their cases for financial decisions that could come to a head during special session as soon as next month. Read the full article. Gov. Jim Justice, a Republican, has said he’ll soon call a special session over…
West Virginia Watch, News from the States - Lawmakers will return to Charleston this weekend for interim meetings, marking their first return to the state Capitol since the 2024 regular session wrapped last month. Read the full article. From Sunday through Tuesday, legislators are scheduled to receive reports and updates on various state programs and…
Mountain State Spotlight, Times West Virginian, Fayette Tribune - Across West Virginia, it’s already hard for many people to access health care. And unless state lawmakers change the budget they passed last month, it’s about to get even more difficult, especially for people who live in the most rural areas and those considered lower income. Read the…
Wheeling Intelligencer, The Inter-Mountain, West Virginia News - Advocates for a strong and robust Medicaid system in West Virginia say the program is healthy, but changes and cuts being considered by the Legislature could put the program at risk of not meeting the needs of state residents. Read the full article. Advocacy organizations gathered in…
West Virginia MetroNews - Senate Finance Chairman Eric Tarr says state budget items may be revisited over the next few months, but he proposes a cautious approach to spending on health and human services. Read the full article. Gov. Jim Justice, a Republican, has said he’ll soon call a special session over state financial matters, especially over…
West Virginia MetroNews, WCHS - Amid nearly one-third of West Virginians relying on Medicaid, the state-federal affordable healthcare insurance program could face over a $100 million dollar shortfall if lawmakers don’t act. Read the full article. State healthcare experts met on Monday morning in Charleston advocating for West Virginia legislators to vote to preserve and…
West Virginia Watch, News from the States, Bluefield Daily Telegraph - With a special legislative session to address the state budget on the horizon, advocates for West Virginia Medicaid called on state policy makers Monday to fund the health care program. Read the full article. Ellen Allen, executive director of West Virginians for Affordable Health…
Bolts - In the months leading up to her death, Ashley Omps of Charleston, West Virginia, felt ashamed to be taking suboxone. It was prescribed to her to treat opioid dependency by limiting cravings and withdrawal symptoms, and though it was clearly a much healthier alternative to the pills and heroin she’d been taking before,…