The Affordable Care Act has been an undeniable success in West Virginia, both in terms of insuring our residents and boosting our economy. Unfortunately, since 2017, our uninsured rate has increased and enrollment in the ACA marketplace has declined sharply. This is likely due to several factors, including reduced Medicaid participation and confusion over the…
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Source: Kaiser Family Foundation, State Decisions for Creating Health Insurance Marketplaces Almost all of the success in the Obamacare roll out to date has occurred in the dark blue states. Note, West Virginia is not dark blue. On the very same day that the federal government shutdown a few weeks ago, the Obamacare online Marketplace,…
Lunch and Learn About the Benefits of a Soda Tax This Wednesday, August 17How could a soda tax improve our physical and fiscal health in West Virginia?Numerous studies have linked the excessive consumption of soda to the nation's epidemic of obesity, diabetes and other diseases. A soda tax could reduce consumption and positively impact public…
Families who struggle to pay for expenses put most of their money right back into the economy when they buy necessities. A West Virginia Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) would give these families an additional boost at tax time and generate millions of dollars in local West Virginia communities. This week the Charleston Gazette editorial…
It took a special session but lawmakers successfully balanced this year's budget as the clock was running out. A mixture of Rainy Day funds, budget cuts, and an increase in the tobacco tax filled the gap. They did not, however, provide a long-term solution and West Virginia will face a similar situation next year. How…
More and more West Virginians have health insurance, thanks to the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid Expansion. According the U.S. Census Bureau, 108,000 West Virginians lacked health insurance in 2015, a decrease of 48,000 from 2014. With 94.0 percent of West Virginians now having health insurance, the state's uninsured rate in 2015 was 6.0 percent,…
Working families with low- and moderate-incomes often struggle to keep afloat and many childless adults are often taxed into poverty. On April 10, 2019, Senators Sherrod Brown, Michael Bennet, Richard Durbin, and Ron Wyden introduced the “Working Families Tax Relief Act” that aims to expand both the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) as well as…
For Immediate Release: January 19, 2024 Contact: Kelly Allen, (304)-612-4180 Charleston, WV – The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy (WVCBP), an independent research and advocacy organization working to advance public policies that increase opportunity and eliminate inequities for children and families, announces that it will be serving as the KIDS COUNT® partner for the state of West…
Irresponsible budget cuts that slash basic funding for education, public safety, and roads put our state at risk and hurt our families. We are rolling out our Protect West Virginia campaign next month in hopes of holding lawmakers accountable and demanding real budget solutions to preserve our heritage, safeguard our communities, and secure the state's…
West Virginia places four times as many children per capita into the foster care system as the United States as a whole. Most foster care entries in West Virginia are related to substance use or neglect—not abuse. Poverty and lack of access to substance use treatment are major drivers of foster care entry.[i] To solve…