West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey Story Archives

W.Va. Agencies Participating In Drug Take Back Day

Local and state law enforcement agencies will collect unused medication and responsibly dispose of it on Saturday for Drug Takeback Day.

Local and state law enforcement agencies will collect unused medication on Saturday, Oct. 26 for Drug Takeback Day.

Twice each year, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) sponsors events nationwide to collect unused or expired prescription medications and responsibly dispose of them to prevent abuse of the substances.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., collection sites will accept tablets, capsules, patches and other solid forms of prescription drugs. Syringes and illicit drugs will not be accepted. Also, liquid products, such as cough syrup, should remain sealed in their original containers. The caps must be tightly sealed to prevent leakage.

A collection site locator and other information is available at DEATakeBack.com.

Since its start in 2010, Take Back Day has removed more than 66 tons of medication from circulation in West Virginia, according to a press release from U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia, Will Thompson.

“The non-medical use of prescription drugs is the second-most common form of drug abuse in America,” Thompson said in the release. “Safely disposing of old, unwanted and unneeded prescription drugs is an effective way to prevent accidental poisoning, overdosing and abuse.”

Nationally, the DEA has collected 9,285 tons of medication in 14 years of take back days.

On Oct. 22, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced his office will partner with law enforcement and substance abuse prevention groups across West Virginia to provide staffing for collection sites on Saturday.

“Events like this are a key part of the work our office does to keep potentially dangerous drugs from being misused or abused,” Morrisey said in a release. “If anyone has unused or unwanted prescription drugs, especially opioids and other pain medications, I encourage them to bring them in to be safely discarded and destroyed.”

The Attorney General’s office has participated in Drug Take Back Day since 2013 and is coordinating with Capitol Police and the State Department of Homeland Security at a Take Back location at the State Capitol Complex Zone, adjacent to the Culture Center at the Greenbrier, Washington Street entrance.

The Capitol Police provide a year-round disposal box in Building 1, Room 152-A at the Capitol Complex.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Marshall Health.

Rehab Facility Sued For Medicaid Fraud

An investigation into alleged Medicaid fraud at a substance use treatment facility in Wood County led West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey to file a lawsuit against the facility.

Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced his office is seeking more than $236,000 from a Wood County drug rehabilitation facility for alleged fraudulent Medicaid claims at a press conference Wednesday morning at the Wood County Courthouse.

However, the facility, Clean & Clear Advantage, LLC said in a statement provided to West Virginia Public Broadcasting Wednesday afternoon, that the company is also a victim of fraud.

According to the statement, in 2021, a man named Clifford Marlowe forged his credentials and documentation to Clean & Clear Advantage, LLC, and the company argues, took advantage of the turbulent COVID-19 pandemic to get a job as a therapist.

Marlowe did not have the required degree and was not a licensed master-level therapist. He also did not hold a healthcare license from the state.

“From the moment this deception was uncovered, Clean & Clear has fully cooperated with the investigation conducted by the West Virginia Attorney General’s Office,” the statement reads. “Clean & Clear is a victim of Mr. Marlowe’s egregious fraud, who targeted the facility at a time of great difficulty for us and the entire country, and we are working diligently to support state authorities in holding him accountable.”

Marlowe was indicted in September and charged with two felony counts of Medicaid fraud and fraudulent schemes.

Morrisey alleges claims for 52 patients, totaling nearly $79,000, were filed by Marlowe. He said his office was tipped off and his Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigation found fraudulent claims submitted to the state’s Medicaid program from May 2021 through January 2022.

“We believe that this individual was not qualified to render the services he did under the Medicaid law, and then, because the company did not take the steps to return the money that the company also is civilly liable to the Medicaid program for damages,” Morrisey said.

Morrisey acknowledged that Clean & Clear attempted to pay the $79,000.

“There was an effort made by the company to simply send a check in, in order to pay for the underlying amount that was alleged to have been improperly billed,” Morrisey said. “But that’s not how this works. If you allegedly violate the law, you’re not only subject to the simple money that you may have obtained improperly from overpayments. You’re likely to be subject to penalties as well. So that’s part of this process.”

Morrisey said his office is seeking three times the amount claimed as a signal to those who might try to take advantage of opioid settlement money flowing into the state.

“Anytime there’s a disaster and people are donating charitably, scammers come out to play,” Morrisey said. “But we want to send a message that that’s not going to be tolerated here in West Virginia.”

Morrisey is running in the 2024 General Election as the Republican nominee for Governor of West Virginia.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Marshall Health.

A Second Special Session, Hurricane Helene’s Aftermath and Repurposed Power Plants, This West Virginia Week

West Virginia Week is a web-only podcast that explores the week’s biggest news in the Mountain State. Emily Rice is our host this week.

On this West Virginia Week, we start with the legislature’s second special session of the year. The Governor’s original call for this special session prioritized childcare tax credits and cutting the income tax by 5 percent, but once lawmakers gaveled in, discussions quickly devolved.

Statehouse Reporter, Caelan Bailey will tell us about one measure on nuclear regulations that passed with the smallest margin of 73 yeas out of 91 votes cast.

Plus, we’ll hear about the devastation in the southeast from Hurricane Helene and how West Virginia’s National Guard will help recovery efforts.

Also, a ballot amendment could decide the fate of medically assisted suicide in West Virginia this November, a possible transition from coal power to natural gas and a community pushes back against a new city ordinance.

Emily Rice is our host this week. Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert.

West Virginia Week is a web-only podcast that explores the week’s biggest news in the Mountain State. It’s produced with help from Bill Lynch, Briana Heaney, Caelan Bailey, Chris Schulz, Curtis Tate, Emily Rice, Eric Douglas, Jack Walker, Liz McCormick, Randy Yohe and Maria Young.

Learn more about West Virginia Week.

Supreme Court May Decide If W.Va. Medicaid Must Cover Gender-Affirming Surgeries

The U.S. Supreme Court may decide if West Virginia Medicaid is required to cover gender-affirming surgeries.

Updated on Friday, July 26, 2024 at 4 p.m.

The fight over whether West Virginia is legally required to cover gender-affirming surgeries under Medicaid is headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The original lawsuit, filed on November 19, 2020, by Lambda Legal, a civil rights organization focused on LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS rights, alleged West Virginia’s Medicaid and state employee health plans unlawfully denied coverage for gender-affirming care for two transgender residents.

On September 23, 2021, Lambda Legal announced that plaintiffs had been added to the suit, two transgender West Virginia women, Shaunte Anderson and Leanne James.

The suit argued the state is violating the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid law by not covering treatments for gender dysphoria.

West Virginia banned gender-affirming surgeries due to gender dysphoria from Medicaid coverage in 2004. Medicaid covers pubertal modulating and hormone therapy.

On April 29, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled in Anderson’s favor that West Virginia could not deny Medicaid coverage for gender reassignment surgeries.

In an 8-6 decision, the appeals judges concluded that West Virginia discriminates unfairly against transgender people because the state’s policies allow coverage for the same procedures to other people for different medical reasons.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced Thursday he filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to challenge the decision of the lower court.

“This is a case that we think should be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, because it’s interpreting a major federal law, the Medicaid act, and it presents a nationally important constitutional question, whether Medicaid, or any state related insurance program, must cover all transgender care,” Morrisey said.

Morrisey told reporters at a press conference that he believed the state’s Medicaid program made “a reasonable decision to reserve scarce funding” and that the state is entitled to have priorities in the operation of its Medicaid program.

“The state’s Medicaid program is saying no to the transsexual surgery,” Morrisey said. “And it’s a state that’s trying to help ensure that we’re covering people with heart disease, with diabetes and all sorts of medical conditions. We’re not a rich state, we can’t afford to do everything.”

In a statement, Lambda Legal Senior Counsel, Tara Borelli, attorney in the Anderson v. Crouch lawsuit, said she is confident the court’s decision will stand.

“Everyone, including transgender people, deserves access to life saving and medically necessary health care,” Borelli said. “This appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court serves no purpose other than to deny equal treatment and urgently needed care to Medicaid participants except to put lives at risk. The U.S. district court and the Fourth Circuit both reviewed the evidence and found that targeting transgender people for discrimination is unconstitutional.”

**Editor’s Note: This story was updated to include Lambda Legal’s Response to West Virginia’s Appeal to the Supreme Court.

Morrisey Partners With State Auditor To Ensure Proper Local Spending Of Opioid Funds

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced a partnership with the state Auditor’s Office to supplement efforts to ensure opioid settlement money will be used for its intended purposes as outlined in the West Virginia First Foundation Memorandum of Understanding.

To make sure opioid settlement money is being used for its intended purpose, local governments will have additional resources from the West Virginia State Auditor’s office.

The MOU created a plan of action to address the opioid crisis and details the allocation method for any settlement funds or judgments received as a result of the various lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, distributors and other parties in the pharmaceutical supply chain.

The West Virginia First Foundation will handle 72.5 percent of the state’s settlement funds, while 24.5 percent will go to local governments. The remaining three percent will be held by the state in escrow to cover any outstanding attorney’s fees.

Morrisey and Auditor J.B. McCuskey are sending letters to cities and counties to provide information and guidance as they begin to receive and plan to spend their share of the opioid settlement money.

“This is another layer in the checks and balances to make sure the money from settlements are used in the best possible way, to attack the opioid scourge head-on,” Morrisey said. “I am pleased to partner with the State Auditor’s Office to bring its proven track record of transparency, accountability, and service to local governments to amplify the collaborative effort between the Attorney General’s Office and local governments around the state.”

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.

Appeal Filed In Abortion Pill Court Battle

The lawsuit claimed that Morrisey violated federal law, more specifically the commerce clause of the U.S Constitution, by prohibiting the sale of the drug in West Virginia.

Abortion pill manufacturer GenBioPro has filed an appeal to the judge’s August ruling in its case against West Virginia’s near-total abortion ban.

In his ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Chambers dismissed some claims filed by pharmaceutical group GenBioPro in a lawsuit against the state’s attorney general, Patrick Morrisey.

GenBioPro manufactures a generic version of Mifepristone, an FDA approved, non-invasive prescription pill. The medication is used in conjunction with Misoprostol for medical abortions and can be taken at home to terminate a pregnancy.

The lawsuit claimed that Morrisey violated federal law, more specifically the commerce clause of the U.S Constitution, by prohibiting the sale of the drug in West Virginia.

The clause gives Congress broad power to regulate and restrict states from impairing interstate commerce. However, Chambers, who presides over the southern district of West Virginia, said states have the right to regulate public health and morality by curtailing the sale of goods.

The court earlier ruled that GenBioPro had legal standing to bring a suit against the attorney general’s office on the basis of economic damages incurred by the company.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said his office stands ready to fight an appeal and that the judge’s former ruling made it clear the regulation of abortion falls on the states.

“As we did in federal district court, we stand ready to defend West Virginia law to the fullest,” Morrisey said. “There’s no doubt in my mind the new Unborn Child Protection Act is not preempted by federal law and that all of these statutes are constitutional.”

Skye Perryman, Legal Counsel to GenBioPro and President and CEO of Democracy Forward, said this appeal is a critical next step in her organization’s fight to protect access to medication abortion.

“West Virginia’s decision to step in where Congress has granted FDA the authority to regulate mifepristone is unlawful and could undermine not only access to medication, but the country’s entire drug regulation system,” Perryman said. “What’s more, decades of science support mifepristone’s safety and efficacy and it is unacceptable that people living in West Virginia who need this basic health care are being forced to travel out of state or forgo care altogether. We look forward to continuing to represent GenBioPro in the further stages of this case.”

According to Morrisey’s office, in August, the district court dismissed the preemption claim against the state’s Unborn Child Protection Act and the constitutional challenges entirely, but it allowed the preemption challenge to the telehealth provisions to proceed.

Morrisey said GenBioPro removed the telehealth challenge in order to proceed with an appeal.