Governor Keeps Sights On Religious Vaccine Exemptions, Certificate Of Need Repeal

Entering office in January, Gov. Patrick Morrisey set the expansion of school vaccine exemptions and the repeal of West Virginia’s certificate of need process as early administrative priorities.

As the third week of this year’s legislative session comes to a close, bills addressing both issues have gained traction in the West Virginia Legislature. While some of the bills’ specifics have veered off from initial plans Morrisey outlined last month, the governor said Friday he believes he will still be able to see his legislative goals through.

Vaccine Exemptions

Senate Bill 460 would exempt West Virginia students from school-entry vaccination requirements on religious or philosophical grounds. The bill has sparked fierce debate among parents, anti-vaccine advocates and medical professionals, flaring into an hours-long debate in a Monday evening meeting of the West Virginia House of Delegates Health and Human Resources Committee.

The bill would expand a vaccine exemption bill that passed the West Virginia Legislature last year, but was vetoed by then Gov. Jim Justice. It passed the West Virginia Senate on Feb. 21, and remained in the House’s committee review process as of Friday afternoon.

Almost immediately upon taking office, the governor signed an executive order authorizing student vaccine exemptions under West Virginia’s Equal Protection for Religion Act, which passed in 2023.

Morrisey also advocated for the state legislature to widen vaccine exemptions for West Virginia students, but recommended that the bill require schools to report the percentage of their student body granted a vaccine exemption.

Senate Bill 460 would not require schools to report these figures, and state senators rejected an amendment to include an exemption reporting requirement for West Virginia schools on Feb. 18.

Morrisey applauded efforts to create an exemption during a press conference at the State Capitol Friday morning, but stopped short of endorsing it outright. He said the legislative session is a long process, and that opportunities remain to pass an effective vaccine exemption bill.

“I commend folks that are advancing bills, and we’ll sort things out,” Morrisey said. “It’s a process — the House, the Senate, the governor. We’re all involved in the process, so I’m not concerned about things.”

Morrisey said his key concern is ensuring that a religious exemption to vaccine requirements is adopted this year, and that officials will “talk about other issues as they arise.”

“There could be some differences of opinion. But you look for something that’s good for people,” he said.

Certificate Of Need Repeal

Morrisey has also emphasized the repeal of West Virginia’s certificate of need process for hospitals as a goal for this year’s legislative session. But that effort has had a rockier road to becoming law.

Since 1977, new health care providers in West Virginia have been required to obtain state-issued certificates of need, which verify that they offer services that are not being provided to a local community before opening. Certificates are administered by the West Virginia Health Care Authority.

Proponents of the process say it helps ensure services and communities do not go overlooked in the state’s health care system, and helps hospitals become more deeply embedded in their communities. Certificates of need require providers to project how many patients they will serve, and create back-up plans in case they face insufficient demand.

Opponents of the process say it reduces health care competition, driving up prices for patients. A 2022 study from the national Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services placed West Virginia in the top fifth of U.S. states for per-person health care spending.

This year’s push to repeal the certificate of need process is part of a years-long effort to reform a program that has troubled the state’s increasingly Republican legislature.

But the House Health Committee narrowly voted down a bill that would have repealed the process during a meeting Monday. A similar repeal bill is currently under consideration in the West Virginia Senate, but awaits review from the Senate Health and Human Resources Committee.

Despite what he described as “short-term roadblocks,” Morrisey said he has hope a repeal will come to fruition during this year’s legislative session. He said Friday that it remains a point of focus because boosting health care competition “benefits our citizens.”

Reporter Steven Allen Adams with Ogden Newspapers asked Morrisey if he would support a localized or non-statewide repeal of the certificate of need process. He said he hoped to reform the process as much as possible, but did not explicitly voice support for a modified version of the repeal.

“The more reforms we have, the lower the prices for our customers. That’s a great thing, so I’m going to push to fight for our consumers to lower health care costs,” Morrisey said. “I recognize that everyone doesn’t share that. I do think we have a majority, though, in the House and the Senate, who do.”

The last day to propose new legislation is March 18 for the House, and March 24 for the state’s Senate. Bills must pass their initial chamber by April 2 to receive the bicameral approval necessary to appear before the governor.