On this West Virginia Morning, new federal work requirements for Medicaid could impact up to 44,000 of the state’s residents.
But a new analysis suggests that reporting one’s employment under the proposed policy could be prohibitively complicated, limiting access to health care even for some of those with long-term work. Health reporter Emily Rice discussed the policy specifics with health care policy expert Katherine Hempstead.
Plus, 33 field offices of the Mine Safety and Health Administration face closure through the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
The Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center compiled and analyzed data from the federal Mine Data Retrieval System on the number of inspections conducted and cumulative hours worked by inspectors at these offices. Tom Martin, an editor with WEKU, spoke with Wes Addington, executive director of the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, in Whitesburg, Ky.
Also in this episode, the most diverse collection of wildflowers at any national park in the United States has bloomed in the Great Smoky Mountains. For the Appalachia Mid-South Newsroom, Jacqui Sieber paid the park a visit to learn more about what makes the season so unique.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.
Maria Young produced this episode.
Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning
