Across West Virginia, many people already have difficulty accessing health care. And unless the state Legislature changes the budget it passed last month, it's likely to become even more difficult, especially for those who live in the most rural areas and those considered low-income.
Starting in July at the beginning of next fiscal year, West Virginia officials will be forced to make significant cuts to the state's Medicaid budget. Approximately one-third of the state's population relies on government health insurance programs.
Despite testimony from state officials that the program needs more money due to rising health care costs and the end of coronavirus relief funds, lawmakers have decided to give it about $150 million less than needed. provided a small amount to the program. It also failed to pass a bill recommended by health officials that would have paid for some of the increase by increasing taxes on managed care organizations.
The cuts could also be significant, since for every less amount West Virginia spends on the program, the state would lose $3 in federal matching dollars.
West Virginians eligible for Medicaid include single adults with annual incomes of about $20,000 to families of four with annual incomes of about $40,000. In addition to low-income adults, the insurance covers nearly half of West Virginia's children and people who are unable to work.
Under federal law, insurance must cover some services, such as inpatient and outpatient visits and some doctor visits. But facing funding issues, state health officials could cut services such as hospice care, dental care, physical therapy, speech therapy, home care for people with disabilities and prescription drugs.
It also could pay providers who accept Medicaid patients a reduced fee for seeing those patients. That means more medical professionals in the state could decide not to accept Medicaid patients at all. This would have a severe impact on the state's most rural areas, which are already suffering from a shortage of health care providers.
Health officials at the state Department of Health did not respond to emailed questions about how services would be cut.
But the easiest and most likely way for state health officials to reduce Medicaid costs is to pay providers said that it would reduce the
“They could reduce the number of Medicaid patients they accept or stop accepting new Medicaid patients,” she said.
Sen. Eric Tarr (R-Putnam), chairman of the finance committee that writes the budget, declined an interview request through a spokesperson.
He said at the committee meeting that he wants to reduce Medicaid costs, asking health officials to assess whether Medicaid funds are improving health and whether people on Medicaid are using private insurance. They were asked whether they were receiving better benefits than those in the same household.
Some of his committee members are interested in revisiting the issue.
Sen. Mike Oliverio (R-Monongalia) said in an interview that he hopes lawmakers allocate more money to Medicaid later, perhaps during a special session. He said one of the reasons lawmakers passed the tough budget was because they weren't sure the federal government would require states to give back money after states failed to meet certain education spending requirements. He said that.
But Sen. Rupee Phillips (R-Logan), another member of the Finance Committee, said lawmakers want more people to work and fewer people to participate in programs like Medicaid. He said he wanted to.
“If you need help, get it,” he said. “People just have to stop complaining about the government and get to work.”
For advocates like Rich Sutphin, executive director of the West Virginia Rural Health Association, the cuts are counterproductive and could become permanent even if more money is later put back into the budget. There is sex.
He said some local hospitals and clinics would likely have to close permanently if reimbursements to health care providers are cut. People need health care available through programs like Medicaid to stay healthy enough to find work, especially as major employers like Allegheny Wood Products and the Cleveland-Cliffs lay off workers. There is.
“Medicaid acts as a safety net,” he said. “These are the kinds of things that happen when people find themselves in difficult situations and need safety net programs to ensure their children are healthy, their families get the care they need, and their chronic diseases are managed. We need a method.”
Kelly Allen, executive director of the West Virginia Budget and Policy Center, said multiple treatments can be needed to recover from illnesses such as substance use disorders.
“We have a long history of negative health outcomes in West Virginia,” she says. “Recovery will take a long time.”
She blames the current shortfall on lawmakers' failure to fund Medicaid to keep pace with inflation and policies like the 2023 personal income tax cut that take away some state revenue. denounced.
“If you want to study the effectiveness of Medicaid, I'm all for it,” she said. “But I don't think stopping it now and just seeing what happens is an effective way to study it.”
