WDTV – Our state has seen one of the biggest drops in the number of people without health insurance in the country. 5 News found out what this means for people who weren’t previously insured and why some of us still aren’t. Read/Watch
Almost 100,000 West Virginians have gotten health insurance in one year. This is according to data the U.S. Census Bureau came out with for 2013 to 2014. Sean O’Leary, a policy analyst from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, says 2014 was the first year the Affordable Care Act was fully implemented.
Only 10 other states saw a decrease like this. So how has getting health insurance affected people? 5 News asked people with different backgrounds to find out.
Mary Linger has a disability and can’t work, but she’s able to afford healthcare because of the Affordable Care Act. She’s one of the people that benefited from Governor Tomblin expanding our state’s Medicaid program to cover more people in 2013.
“Before I got my Medicare and Medicaid, yeah it was a big difference,” Linger said. “Because my medication’s so expensive, I couldn’t, if I didn’t have that I wouldn’t be able to have my medication that I actually need.”
