Public News Service, Clay County Free Press - It's been 13 years since more than 156,000 West Virginians gained health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act. Read the full article. As sweeping and sometimes controversial as the ACA has been, its longer-term effects are still being felt today at the state level. Gary Zuckett, executive director…
Health
Morgan Messenger - West Virginia has long faced significant health-related challenges, many of which could have been meaningfully addressed by bills introduced during the 2023 legislative session. While a couple of positive health-focused bills were passed by the legislature this year, unfortunately lawmakers focused much of their attention on health-related policies based on fear—not facts.…
West Virginia has long faced significant health-related challenges, many of which could have been meaningfully addressed by bills introduced during the 2023 legislative session. Maternal and infant mortality rates continue to rise nationally, and the most recent pre-pandemic state data indicated that infant mortality in West Virginia outpaces the national rate.[1] Opioid overdose deaths continue to take the…
Beckley Register-Herald, Fayette Tribune - The state health department will soon be required to assess if more than 600,000 Medicaid users — more than a third of the state’s population — are still eligible for free or low-cost health insurance. Read the full article. The undertaking comes as the department, which is facing mounting criticism…
Mountain State Spotlight - When COVID first upended West Virginia in spring 2020, the federal government took steps to make sure people had access to the food and health insurance they needed. In some cases, benefits increased. In others, like Medicaid, state officials were allowed to temporarily stop checking eligibility requirements. Since then, the insurance…
WOWK - Our Future West Virginia will have a free, public Medicaid forum on the West Side of Charleston, West Virginia, in March. Read the full article. The organization says the COVID-19 Pandemic Emergency Coverage program will soon end, leaving many West Virginians without Medicaid coverage. The forum will help teach the community about important…
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government passed legislation to help families and health care providers amid an unprecedented health and economic crisis. Among the provisions, states were required to keep people who receive health insurance via Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) continuously enrolled in the programs in exchange…
Beckley Register-Herald - The state health department will soon be required to assess if more than 600,000 Medicaid users – more than a third of the state’s population – are still eligible for free or low-cost health insurance. Read the full article. The undertaking comes as the department, which is facing mounting criticism for its…
Mountain State Spotlight, My Buckhannon - Yesterday was Crossover Day, a key legislative deadline. This is the day when the full universe of bills introduced during the session — 2,316, to be exact — is whittled down. For the most part, bills that didn’t clear their chamber of origin (the House or the Senate) by…
Mountain State Spotlight - For the more than 200,000 public employees who rely on the state’s health insurance agency, their premiums may soon go up. Lawmakers are also advancing a pay raise for state employees but union leaders say they’re worried that it might not offset premium increases now and in the future. Read the…