With Roe v. Wade expected to be overturned in the coming weeks, abortion is likely to become even more restricted or altogether banned in West Virginia. Indeed, the fall of Roe will create a stark patchwork of abortion legality and access in states across the country. This will exacerbate scenarios wherein people with means will…
Health
West Virginia Public Broadcasting - As health care prices continue to rise, hospitals are feeling the squeeze. Read the full article. The West Virginia Hospital Association is urging state and federal policymakers to help hospitals by increasing the amount of money provided to patients through government insurance programs. Association President and CEO Jim Kaufman argued…
For Immediate Release: May 25, 2022 Contact: Renee Alves, 559-916-5939 Charleston, WV – Medicaid is a critical economic and health program in West Virginia, serving over 616,000 people, including children, seniors, low-income adults, pregnant and postpartum women, persons with disabilities, and more. Medicaid’s flexibility and reach has never been more clear than during the pandemic recession, when it provided…
Introduction Read the full issue brief. Medicaid is a critical economic and health program in West Virginia, serving over 616,000 people, including children, seniors, low-income adults, pregnant and postpartum women, persons with disabilities, and more. In addition to being the main source of health access for over one-third of the state’s population, Medicaid covers the…
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) included several provisions to help make health care more accessible and affordable for Americans. One provision is the Individual Marketplace, which allows people who are not eligible for health coverage through their employers, Medicaid, or Medicare to purchase health insurance, often with income-based subsidies that make the monthly premiums more…
Beckley Register-Herald, Fairmont Times West Virginian - Over the last two decades, West Virginia went from one of the bluest states to one of the reddest. It also went from a state with expansive abortion access to one that will likely see the end of the procedure should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe v.…
The COVID-19 pandemic has now been ongoing for two years. Opioid overdose deaths are rising. Maternal and infant mortality rates are alarming. The number of children in the foster care system across our state continues to outpace the rest of the nation. Despite these realities, the West Virginia Legislature did very little to pass proactive health-…
Mountain State Spotlight, Beckley Register-Herald - More West Virginians will likely go hungry this fall, after lawmakers failed to extend a program for emergency food assistance. Read the full article. As many as 24,000 adult West Virginians could be pushed off of the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, starting in October, if they…
New Research Finds Opioid Overdose Deaths Decline with More Generous Unemployment Insurance Benefits
While life expectancy has steadily increased for Americans over the past century, these gains have slowed in recent decades — and even reversed course — in some populations due to the precipitous rise of opioid overdose deaths. This is of particular concern in West Virginia, the state hardest hit by the opioid epidemic and facing…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - What if you could turn $20 into $40? What if that money could improve the health of your family, giving you the ability to buy fresh fruits and vegetables while freeing up money to pay for much-needed medications? What if, at the same time, that money could improve the economy of your…