Healthcare
Too many West Virginians are going without healthcare. While those with employer-provided insurance are often covered, many others face a painful choice between health insurance and paying for basic necessities like utilities. The Affordable Care Act allows you to choose your coverage through the marketplace, but the system still leaves many behind due to steep premiums.
Accessing care is a major challenge in our state, with most West Virginians forced to travel long distances to see a doctor or specialist. The passage of the “Big Beautiful Bill” has put even more people at risk of losing their Medicaid coverage, and we are facing the real possibility that seven rural hospitals could close for good. I will fight to keep these hospitals open and ensure that they have the financial support they need without burdening taxpayers. The solution is to improve cash flow and give these hospitals the resources to survive.
Support Rural Hospitals with Long-Term Solutions
As your delegate, I will push for long-term, state backed, low interest loans for rural hospitals, with a 20-year repayment period. In return, hospitals will be required to implement plans for improvement, ensuring they remain sustainable and effective.Invest in Telehealth and Mental Health Services
We also need to invest more in telehealth and mental health services, which are crucial for reaching our rural communities. We need to fund hospital infrastructure and reduce ER wait times.Increase and expand the Hope Scholarship for Medical Professionals to help cover Med School
One solution to recruiting and retaining healthcare professionals is expanding and increasing the Hope Scholarship program to help cover medical school costs for those who agree to work in a West Virginia hospital or pharmacy. This will help ensure that our healthcare workforce stays strong and committed to serving our state.Tax on High Profit Out of State Corporations to help stabilize PEIA premiums
Our teachers, public employees, and frontline workers are the backbone of West Virginia. But right now, they’re being squeezed from all sides. PEIA premiums have risen faster than inflation—faster than the raises many of our state workers receive. Instead of bringing home more money, those raises are being swallowed up by rising food costs and skyrocketing healthcare expenses.That’s not right—and it’s not sustainable.
I will fight for a 0.5% increase in the corporate net profits tax on companies earning more than $3 million annually that are not headquartered in West Virginia. If a business is profiting off our workers, roads, and communities without investing in them, it’s only fair they help fund the essential services our people rely on—starting with affordable, reliable healthcare for public workers.
West Virginians show up for their state. It’s time the state shows up for them.
Strengthen Medicaid and Support Healthcare Affordability
I will fight for policies that support rural hospitals and strengthen Medicaid with common-sense legislation to make sure more West Virginians have access to affordable healthcare. Affordability is just as important as access. Prescription drug prices and healthcare costs are out of control, and too many families are burdened by crushing medical debt.
I will fight for transparency in medical billing and work to lower the cost of care, so families no longer walk away from a hospital visit unsure of what they paid and why.
What other industry can you think of where the prices are so confusing, and the cost of essential services keeps rising?
Do you want these values from your delegate, but you do not live in the wonderful 47th precinct of WV? Click on the letter draft below and find your state delegate at this website below. Write to their office with a letter or email. Make your voice heard.
