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August 14, 2013 by
West Virginia Should Extend CHIP Coverage to Public Employees

The passage of the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) included a little-heralded provision to permit states to expand coverage of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to children of public employees. So far, at least seven states have benefited from allowing public employees to enroll their children in CHIP. If West Virginia were to adopt…

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October 22, 2024 by
Year-round Open Enrollment Will Hasten the Growing Cost of the Hope Scholarship

The Hope Scholarship Program was established in West Virginia in 2021 as an expanded school voucher-style program which diverts taxpayer funds from the public school system to families who can use them for private school or homeschool-related costs. Research shows that these programs primarily benefit families whose children were never enrolled in public schools. After…

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January 21, 2025 by
The Perfect Storm: Limited Oversight and Accountability Contribute to Growing Costs of the Hope Scholarship

Overview According to the state constitution, West Virginians are guaranteed “a thorough and efficient system of free schools” provided by the Legislature. However, the ability of our state to fulfill this guarantee for the nearly 90 percent of school-aged children in West Virginia who attend public schools is currently threatened by a variety of challenges.…

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February 25, 2015 by
Sean O’Leary: Drug Testing Welfare Recipients Wasteful, Unnecessary

Charleston Gazette - West Virginia’s Legislature is moving forward with a costly and ineffective bill targeted at only the poorest West Virginians. ReadThe bill, SB 348, would create a three-county pilot program to begin drug-testing recipients of cash assistance. The costs of the drug screening would be deducted from the TANF recipients’ monthly check and…

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February 12, 2015 by
Drug Testing Welfare Recipients – Wasteful and Unnecessary

West Virginia's legislature is moving forward with a costly and ineffective bill targeted at only the poorest West Virginians. The bill, SB 348, would create a three-county pilot program to begin drug testing recipients of cash assistance (a.k.a. WV Works/ TANF). The costs of the drug screening would be deducted from the TANF recipients' monthly check…

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November 1, 2022 by
It’s Open Enrollment Season. Here’s What West Virginians Need to Know

Open enrollment for 2023 Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace coverage begins today, November 1. The Marketplace has been a critical feature of our health care system since its introduction in 2014. It provides quality health coverage for families who are not eligible for employer-sponsored coverage, Medicare, or Medicaid. The ongoing public health emergency triggered by…

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March 1, 2016 by
Severance Tax Cut Would Cost Millions (Updated)

After hearing from the coal industry about their desire for cut in the severance tax, SB 705 was quickly introduced and sped through the Senate Finance Committee on Monday, and is already on 2nd reading in the Senate today. In its current form, the bill cuts the severance tax on coal from 5% to 4%…

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