Medicaid
Biden signs stopgap spending bill, avoiding government shutdown
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has signed the stopgap spending bill, giving his administration and Congress about two months to work out agreement on the dozen annual spending bills. Those appropriations measures were supposed to become law by the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1, but disagreement about whether to adhere to the […]
What you need to know about open enrollment: Yes, it’s a big deal
Nothing keeps West Virginians up at night like the cost of health care. And with the rising prices of food, rent and child care, too many families are left worrying about how to pay the bills and make ends meet. And to add insult to injury, health care costs perennially outpace inflation and all other […]
No to government shutdown: West Virginia can and should keep our kids covered
The federal government is staring down a shutdown. The current spending laws expire at 11:59 p.m. Sept. 30. Without a deal by Saturday night, funding will lapse and many government functions, including some health care programs, will temporarily stop. For the first time since 2019, congressional gridlock is poised to at least temporarily shut down […]
WV to restore Medicaid coverage to 5,500 children
The state of West Virginia will restore health coverage to approximately 5,500 children who were wrongly removed from the Medicaid rolls because of an issue with the eligibility system, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Resources said Tuesday. West Virginia is one of 30 states that the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare […]
Medicaid unwinding: WV among 30 states not complying with federal requirements
As states return to pre-pandemic eligibility rules for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, up to 10,000 West Virginia children may have wrongly lost coverage because the state is conducting automatic renewals for the program at the household level instead of individually, federal officials said Thursday. West Virginia was not among the 23 states […]
Narcan is now available over the counter, but its price may be a barrier to access in WV
This month, for the first time, a version of the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone is available over the counter in retail stores across the country. The federal Food and Drug Administration earlier this year approved a 4-milligram nasal spray of Narcan to be sold without a prescription. Drug manufacturer Emergent BioSolutions has set its […]
Hospitals plead with Congress to avert $8 billion in cuts in Medicaid funding
WASHINGTON — Health care representatives from across the United States are urging Congress to halt cuts to funding that helps hospitals care for uninsured or low-income patients who rely on Medicaid. More than 250 hospitals and health systems appealed to House and Senate leadership in a letter Thursday asking the lawmakers to avert or delay […]
Some states back hospital mergers despite record of service cuts, price hikes
Some illnesses and injuries — say, a broken ankle — can send you to numerous health care providers. You might start at urgent care but end up in the emergency room. Referred to an orthopedist, you might eventually land in an outpatient surgery center. Four different stops on your road to recovery. But as supersized […]
Despite federal warnings, red and blue states aggressively cull Medicaid rolls
Despite federal warnings to slow down, both red and blue states have cut off Medicaid coverage for nearly 4 million people because they lack the proper paperwork. In at least four states, half of all the people who have lost coverage for any reason are children. During the pandemic, the federal government directed states not […]
Thousands of West Virginians are losing their health coverage. We can do more to help.
Since May, over 50,000 West Virginians have lost their health insurance. Over 17,000 of them were kids. And their families may not even know it. Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress enacted the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. In it was the requirement for state Medicaid programs to keep people continuously enrolled through the end […]
Feds raise concerns about West Virginians losing health care during Medicaid, CHIP unwinding
As Medicaid and the Children Health Insurance Program return this year to pre-pandemic era rules, the high number of West Virginians removed because of procedural issues — like not returning a renewal form — has raised concerns with the federal government that eligible people are losing coverage. A letter to state Medicaid Commissioner Cindy Beane […]
DACA recipients’ Medicaid eligibility slammed by U.S. House Republicans
WASHINGTON — A panel on the U.S. House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Tuesday grilled a Biden administration official about the White House’s decision to allow undocumented people in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to enroll in Medicaid or private insurance provided under the Affordable Care Act. The chair of the subcommittee, Republican […]