Tag: Health Insurance

Report: 97 Percent of West Virginia Children are Insured

A new report says 97 percent of children in West Virginia are covered by health insurance.

The report by Georgetown University Health Policy Institute’s Center for Children and Families says West Virginia’s 3 percent rate of uninsured children is among the lowest in the country.

The report ranks West Virginia fourth in the nation. Massachusetts is ranked first with a 1.5 percent rate of uninsured children.

According to the report, West Virginia reduced the number of uninsured children by 43.7 percent from 2013 to 2014.

West Virginia Children’s Health Insurance Program director Sharon Carte says the state faces many health challenges. She says in a news release that the low rate of uninsured children provides a foundation on which to build a healthy future.

W.Va. Public Workers Could Face More Cuts in Health Benefits

West Virginia public workers could face another round of health insurance benefit cuts.

Public Employees Insurance Agency executive director Ted Cheatham says the agency has to cut about $60 million for the 2016-2017 plan because state funding isn’t expected to increase.

Cheatham tells The Charleston Gazette-Mail that PEIA staff will present a list of possible cuts to the agency’s Finance Board in October. Following public hearings in November, the board will approve the 2016-2017 plan in December.

The PEIA imposed $40 million in cuts for the current plan that went into effect July 1. Those cuts were achieved primarily through increasing deductibles and co-pays.

The agency provides health insurance for employees of the state, public schools and other government entities.

West Virginia's Uninsured Dropped 3.5 Percent in 2013

Both West Virginia and Virginia saw modest decreases in the number of uninsured residents last year.The U.S. Census Bureau report released Tuesday shows…

  Both West Virginia and Virginia saw modest decreases in the number of uninsured residents last year.

The U.S. Census Bureau report released Tuesday shows the number of uninsured people in West Virginia dropped from 264,000 in 2012 to 255,000 last year – about 3.5 percent. Virginia’s dropped from 1 million in 2012 to 991,000 last year – about 1 percent.

Because the main coverage expansion under the Affordable Care Act didn’t take effect until this year, the latest census numbers offer a baseline number of uninsured by which increased coverage and effectiveness of the law will be measured.

Kentucky Cooperative to Offer Health Insurance in W. Va.

A Kentucky-based cooperative is preparing to enter West Virginia’s health insurance marketplace.
 
Kentucky Health Cooperative, Inc. says iit has received approval from the West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner to offer health insurance in West Virginia.
 The newly formed West Virginia Health Cooperative, Inc. will begin enrolling residents statewide in November. Benefits will begin Jan. 1, 2015.
 
Kentucky Health Cooperative chief executive officer Janie Miller will also serve as the West Virginia cooperative’s CEO.

Cooperatives are non-profits that are owned by their members.
 
Currently, Highmark West Virginia is the only insurer participating in West Virginia’s health insurance market.

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