West Virginia MetroNews - Gov. Jim Justice and his administration say a $114 million budget gap for the state’s portion of Medicaid is under control. Read the full article. “Sure we’ve got a shortfall in Medicaid right now. Stuff happens. I could have said something a whole lot worse than that, but stuff happens all…
Health
West Virginia News - The Public Employees Insurance Agency's Finance Board is holding public discussions across the state regarding a proposed 10% premium increase for the coming year. This increase would be in addition to the 24% increase implemented for the current year for state employees and educators. The increases are a result of legislation…
West Virginia MetroNews, Dominion Post - PEIA’s Finance Board is going around the state for conversations about what many public employees will likely consider bad news, a 10 percent premium increase for the coming year. Read the full article. That’s on top of a 24 percent increase for state employees and educators instituted for the…
West Virginia Public Broadcasting, West Virginia News - The Black Infant and Maternal Health Working Group hosted a breakfast and meet and greet with lawmakers Monday at the capitol. Read the full article. The event brought together advocates, affected community members, health professionals, and policymakers to address Black infant and maternal health outcomes in West…
West Virginia MetroNews - West Virginia’s drug overdose mortality rate is the highest in the nation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that nearly 1,500 West Virginians will have died from a drug overdose from May 2022 to May of this year. Read the full article. In addition, thousands more West Virginians have drug problems. A survey…
West Virginia Watch - West Virginia’s poor Black infant and maternal health outcomes will be the focus of a two-day meeting in Charleston next month. Read the full article. The event, Empowering Black Infant and Maternal Health Progress in West Virginia, is scheduled for Oct. 15 and 16 in the WVSSPA Conference Center, 1610 Washington…
For Immediate Release: September 12, 2023 Contact: Sara Whitaker, 304-610-6391 Charleston, WV – Since 2015, West Virginia prisons have sent more than $57.1 million out of state to pay for food served in its prisons. Privatizing prison food has resulted in poorer food quality and worse health outcomes. A 2022 class-action lawsuit filed against the Department of Corrections and…
After months of preparation by the state’s health agency, advocates, and other stakeholders, the COVID-19 continuous coverage rules keeping many children enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ended in April 2023. Between April 2023 and April 2024, the state must unwind (or redetermine eligibility for) all Medicaid enrollees and remove ineligible…
West Virginia Public Broadcasting - More than 12 percent of Americans, or 42 million people, need help getting enough food to eat. Listen to the full Us & Them podcast episode. In West Virginia, that number is about 18 percent. That help comes from a federal program called SNAP — the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,…
West Virginia, alongside the rest of the nation, began rolling some residents off of Medicaid in April upon expiration of the three-year continuous coverage protection triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic downturn. The flexibilities implemented during that time helped keep many West Virginians healthy and economically stable. And while the federally-recognized COVID-19 public health…