West Virginia MetroNews - Congress left for holiday break with no resolution to a lingering healthcare tangle. Read the full article. Without any congressional action, about 22 million Americans who receive the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies to lower the cost of their insurance premiums will experience a spike. The subsidies expire Dec. 31. The open enrollment…
Tax and Budget
Charleston Gazette-Mail - Coverage of the state’s involvement in private education invariably interests me. Read the full article. A recent op-ed by Kelly Allen of the West Virginia Budget and Policy Center provided a host of new and important data on the Hope Scholarship, the state’s school voucher program. The column is widely available and…
Mountain State Spotlight, Charleston Gazette-Mail, Clay County Free Press, Huntington Herald-Dispatch, Williamson Daily News - West Virginia state officials will not release a report that analyzes the effects of a spending bill that President Donald Trump dubbed “the Big Beautiful Bill” on the state. Read the full article. With around 50% of West Virginia’s operating…
Parkersburg News and Sentinel, Marietta Times - The Wood County Commission is again looking at jail costs as those continue to increase for housing prisoners within the regional jail system. Read the full article. Sara Whitaker, senior criminal legal policy analyst with the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, talked to the commission this…
In early January, state lawmakers will return to Charleston with one task they are required to complete each legislative session: passing a balanced state budget. This process will be particularly challenging in the new year, happening amid declining state revenues from deep state tax cuts and a slowing economy, a looming budget deficit, and significant…
WTAP - Gov. Patrick Morrisey has publicly released West Virginia’s application for the federal Rural Health Transformation program. Read the full article. Morrisey calls it a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to potentially bring over $100 million annually into the state over the next five years to improve healthcare. The plan targets what Morrisey calls the root cause of West…
Real WV - Competing bills on health care both failed in the US Senate on Thursday, adding further uncertainty to the looming expiration of Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies which will cause steep increases to health care costs for around 60,000 West Virginians. Read the full article. The Democratic plan to extend the ACA subsidies…
West Virginia Watch, Times West Virginian - When the Hope Scholarship, West Virginia’s school voucher program, was enacted, proponents framed the program as one of choice — a way to provide alternative education options to families who could not otherwise afford it. Now, on the eve of the program’s expansion — set to double or…
What is the Hope Scholarship? The Hope Scholarship is a school voucher program that diverts public taxpayer dollars to cover private school and other non-public school expenses like tuition and fees, uniforms, supplies, technology, and even extracurricular costs like dance lessons and zoo tickets. DOWNLOAD THIS BLOG POST AS A FACT SHEET HERE. The program…
Summersville Community Television - In this presentation, the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy breaks down how proposed federal funding cuts could impact communities across our state. Watch the full video.