Earlier this year, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma and the Trump Administration began encouraging states to apply for βblock grantβ waivers for their Medicaid programs. These waivers would allow states to bypass federal standards and beneficiary protections in exchange for agreeing to caps on the federal Medicaid funding they receive.…
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The 81st West Virginia Legislature wrapped up session last Saturday night with 30 health-related bills (by my count). These bills spanned the spectrum from the hot button issue of abortion that continues to generate media coverage to bills that passed multiple committees and both chambers unanimously with nary a peep of press. Here I will…
Hospitals serve a vital role in any community, providing life-saving care to the injured and ill while contributing significant dollars and hours to community service.Β For example, an article in yesterday's Charleston Daily Mail proclaims that the Charleston Area Medical Center (CAMC) "reports $115 million in area benefit" in 2012.Β These benefits included training classes…
Making ends meet is a struggle for many West Virginians employed in lower-wage jobs. In fact, 23% of workers in West Virginia are employed in low-wage jobs and a quarter of those live in poverty. People working in their communities as daycare workers, restaurant servers, home health aides, administrative assistants, and many other lower-income jobs deserve to be able to…
Trump Administration and Morrisey lawsuit would end health coverage for more than 162,000 West Virginians For Immediate Release: June 25, 2020 Contact: Kelly Allen, 304-612-4180 or Jessica Ice, 304-322-0074 Charleston, WV - Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting major recession, the Trump Administration and 18 state attorneys general, including West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, plan to file briefs…
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 fearβnot facts. Two bills that…
Shout-Out to Evidence Counts, the WVCBP Blog As a Budget Beat reader, you are familiar with the WVCBP blog, Evidence Counts. We are proud to be one of the top blogs followed by West Virginia Focus as mentioned in its Sept/Oct issue! Our work on broadband access is also cited on page 24. Read the…
At this week's Lunch and Learn, Tara Holmes, our Summer Research Associate, presented the potential benefits to West Virginia if marijuana were to be legalized for medicinal and recreational use in the state. Her research shows that legalizing marijuana for recreational use would bring in between $26 and $45 million a year in tax revenue…
This blog post was authored by Teri Castle, the 2023 Criminal Legal Reform Summer Research Fellow for the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. Seventeen years ago, I was being held in Western Regional Jail, waiting to be transferred to Lakin Correctional Center. I had just been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to…
The WVCBP is excited to welcome Teri Castle and Veronica Witikko to the team as our 2023 summer research fellows! Teri is serving as our criminal legal reform summer research fellow. She was born in Huntington, WV, and grew up in the surrounding region. She recently graduated from Marshall University, earning a B.A. with a…