How Rising Healthcare Costs Affect PEIA

On this West Virginia Morning, during the teacher strike a couple of weeks ago, educators were asking for two main things: a pay raise, and a fix for the public employees health insurance program — PEIA. While the program’s finance board ultimately agreed to freeze proposed changes that would have increased insurance costs, truly fixing PEIA in the long term might not be that simple. Kara Lofton takes a look at the rising cost of health care nationally and some of the other factors that affect the state employee healthcare program.

Also on today’s show, as Appalachian miners are suffering a surge in black lung disease, lawmakers in Kentucky this week approved changes to a benefits program that critics say will make it harder for sick miners to get help. As Benny Becker reports, Kentucky’s House Bill 2 restricts which physicians decide a miner’s eligibility for state benefits.

And we hear the Mountain Stage Song of the Week — Joan Osborne singing “Tryin’ To Get To Heaven,” from Dylan’s 1997 release, “Time Out Of Mind.”