Marketplace Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Opioid Recovery in Appalachia's Ground Zero

For this episode, Trey speaks with Caitlin Esch, a reporter for The Uncertain Hour podcast, which is produced from the Wealth and Poverty Desk at APM’s Marketplace. They’ve produced a series that examines the history of the so-called “War on Drugs.”

Within this series, Caitlin shines a light on the opioid crisis playing out in Appalachia — “ground zero” for the nation’s current addiction problems. Several years ago, Caitlin was in Wise County, Virginia reporting about the problem with “pill mills” and the over prescribing of pain medications like Lortab, Vicodin and Oxycontin. For this series, she returns to follow up with people she previously met and to see how this epidemic has shaped the outcomes of generations of people now.

The people of Wise County tell how these addictions take apart lives, families, companies and communities. However, Caitlin has also found some interesting approaches for helping the community recover.

Buy Insurance Through the Marketplace? This May Save You Money

If you have a Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield plan that you bought through the Affordable Care Act Marketplaces, you should know there is a change this year that might save you some money.

Hospitals across West Virginia are now categorized in tiers of preferred, enhanced and standard. Basically, if you go to a preferred hospital, you may pay a lot less than you would if you go to a standard hospital for the same procedure. The move is intended to help consumers who may be struggling with the cost of their healthcare, according to Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield West Virginia President Jim Foscett in this interview with Kara Lofton.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation, Charleston Area Medical Center and WVU Medicine.

Hospital Merger Expert Urges Caution with Cabell-Huntington Aquisition of St. Mary's Medical Center

Historically, hospital mergers have meant higher healthcare costs for patients. So when Cabell-Huntington Hospital announced it would buy St. Mary’s Medical Center over a year ago, a federal consumer protection agency stepped in to prevent the consolidation. Now, West Virginia legislation that made it to Governor Earl Ray Tomblin’ desk Saturday could remove barriers to the merger and set a precedent for hospitals in similar standoffs around the country.

Appalachia Health News’ Kara Lofton talked with Marketplace’s Dan Gorenstein and Leemore Dafny, director of Health Enterprise Management at Northwestern University about the merger in a recent Q&A. Gorenstein and Dafny’s main concerns are that the merger will raise healthcare costs (by as much as 15 percent according to Dafny) and lower healthcare quality.

Advocates of the acquisition, including Cabell-Huntington’s CEO and vice president, defend the merger saying they are committed to “restraining the costs of health care to the fullest extent practicable,” and that the merger will not affect quality of care.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.