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…
Health
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…
Public News Service - West Virginia groups are pushing state lawmakers to pass several bills related to health care, bills they say would lower copays and increase access to health insurance. Read the full article. Legislators are considering a bill which would allow people who make a small amount of money over Medicaid's income limit to "buy…
For Immediate Release: February 14, 2022Contact: Renee Alves, 559-916-5939 Charleston, WV – In May 2016, West Virginia implemented a pilot program that placed time limits on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility for adults without children in the home (officially referred to as "abled-bodied adults without dependents" or "ABAWDs") across nine counties. Under these time limits, those affected were…
Background In May 2016, West Virginia implemented a pilot program that placed time limits on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility for adults without children in the home (officially referred to as “able-bodied adults without dependents” or “ABAWDs”) across nine counties. Under these time limits, those affected were ineligible for SNAP if they could not…
For Immediate Release: February 10, 2022Contact: Renee Alves, 559-916-5939 Charleston, WV – On Thursday February 10, Health Care for All WV, a statewide coalition of health advocacy organizations and individuals working to improve access to health care for West Virginians, held a press conference at the WV State Capitol Complex in support of HB 3001. The legislation, introduced by…
Media Advisory: February 9, 2022Contact: Renee Alves, 304-720-8682 Charleston, WV – On Thursday February 10, Health Care for All WV, a statewide coalition of health advocacy organizations and individuals working to improve access to health care for West Virginians, will hold a press conference at the WV State Capitol Complex in support of HB 3001. The legislation,…
In December, West Virginia state lawmakers in the Joint Committee on Finance discussed the "cliff effect," a phenomenon wherein a small increase in household income makes an individual or family ineligible for public programs like Medicaid and food assistance. The result can often mean less economic security for the individual or family, as the cost…
CNN, Kake - Almost all of the states that produce the most unfavorable economic and health care outcomes for children are among those poised to ban or severely restrict access to abortion if the Supreme Court overturns the nearly 50-year-old Roe v. Wade decision. Read the full article. That pattern underscores the paradox that the states most…