The Budget Bill Is Bad for West Virginia

Note: This guest publication was written by our partners at Families USA.

The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” will terminate health coverage, drive up costs and cut care across the country — eliminating health coverage for nearly 16 million people and resulting in over 51,000 preventable deaths nationwide. If Congress charges ahead with either the Senate or House version of the bill, at least 69,000 West Virginians will lose health coverage, and West Virginia’s uninsured rate will increase by 70%.

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The budget bill threatens the health and financial security of West Virginians in every community:

• Makes the largest cut to Medicaid in history, gutting a whopping $859 billion from Medicaid and the low-income families, workers, veterans and people with disabilities who rely on it for their care, including over 500,000 children and adults in West Virginia.
• Drains $349 billion from Marketplace coverage, jeopardizing small businesses and entrepreneurs in West Virginia.
• Forces another $500 billion in mandatory cuts to Medicare by triggering federal spending laws — on top of the Medicaid cuts that will already impact seniors and people with disabilities who are also covered by Medicare (dual-eligibles).

The budget bill will wreak havoc on West Virginia’s health system and economy.

West Virginia will be forced to offset budget holes caused by this bill by terminating coverage for families, eliminating essential health services, and cutting provider rates so drastically that doctors and hospitals are forced to close their doors — particularly in rural communities. Hospitals like Grafton City Hospital and WVU Medicine Jackson General Hospital in Ripley will be at greater financial risk of closing due to Medicaid cuts in the bill.

The budget bill will roll back the last decade of improvements to West Virginia health coverage and care.

West Virginia Medicaid will face major cuts, forcing the state to make tough decisions about rolling back the services it provides — including dental care, prescription drugs and substance use treatment. The bill would also raise costs for West Virginia’s low-income seniors and people with disabilities who have Medicare coverage but also rely on Medicaid to help pay for out-of-pockets costs and access services not covered by Medicare. These cuts undermine the core financial backbone of West Virginia’s health care system, as Medicaid pays for a significant portion of care and services at local clinics and hospitals and serves as a critical engine for the state’s economy.