June 18, 2009 | WV MetroNewsGovernor Joe Manchin is on the campaign trail not for political office but for a healthier West Virginia.
This week, he's signed Senate Bill 414 into law. It implements a five year plan to provide affordable, high quality health care to every West...
June 17, 2009 | Healthy Future Press ReleaseCHARLESTON – West Virginians Campaign for a Healthy Future – an alliance of more than 50 state and national organizations representing the spectrum of healthcare stakeholders – heralded Governor Joe Manchin’s signing of Senate Bill 414 today. Senate...
June 05, 2009 | News Release America's AgendaSB 414, passed by the West Virginia legislature on May 28th, is the
centerpiece of a group of landmark health reform bills passed by the
West Virginia legislature this year. West Virginia's 2009 package of
health care reforms launches the first stage...
April 12, 2009 | WSAZ (NBC) CharlestonCHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) The legislature has taken the first major step in a comprehensive five-year plan to modernize the health care system.
The House and Senate came to a last minute agreement to create the Governor's Office of Health Enhancement...
April 12, 2009 | Huntington Herald DispatchCHRISTIAN ALEXANDERSEN
CHARLESTON A bill creating an office to coordinate health reform efforts across the state is waiting for Gov. Joe Manchin's signature after winning approval in the West Virginia Legislature on Saturday night.
Delegate Don...
April 15, 2009 | Op/Ed Charleston Daily MailAs the last seconds ticked away on this year's legislative session, the House of Delegates approved Senate Bill 414, a bill that if signed into law by Gov. Manchin will establish a cabinet-level position to coordinate health care reform efforts in state...
March 28, 2009 | by Bill Tauzin and Bill Novelli
CHARLESTON, W.Va. One of the best things about West Virginia is that nearly everyone wants to do his or her part to make the state a better place to live and a better place for businesses to locate.
That's why our...
March 25, 2009 | Associated PressStudy: Few US hospitals use digital records
By ALICIA CHANG
LOS ANGELES (AP) — U.S. hospitals have a long way to go to join the digital age. Fewer than 2 percent have abandoned paper medical charts and completely switched to electronic health records...
March 25, 2009 | Charleston GazetteBy Alison Knezevich
Staff writer
CHARLESTON, W.Va. Members of a state Senate committee on Tuesday approved a bill to make chain restaurants post calorie counts with their menus, despite industry protests that it would cost too much.
Supporters say...
March 24, 2009 | Associated PressCHARLESTON, W.Va. West Virginia could save roughly $2.7 billion in public and private health care costs by 2018 if it focuses on combating the twin scourges of obesity and chronic illness, a national expert told lawmakers Tuesday.
If the state does...
March 24, 2009 | Press ReleaseTHORPE SAYS WEST VIRGINIA COULD SAVE OVER $2 BILLION IF LEGISLATURE PASSES HEALTH CARE REFORM
Charleston, WV – West Virignia: Roadmap to Health Author Dr. Ken Thorpe today released a report that indicates West Virginia could save up to $2.7 billion in...
March 23, 2009 | Charleston Daily Mailby Michelle Saxton
Daily Mail Capitol Reporter
CHARLESTON, W.Va.State worker Harlan White had just picked up a cheeseburger and apple pie at an East End Rally's for lunch.
Fast food is not his regular lunchtime routine - he usually brings his own...
March 09, 2009 | Charleston Daily Mailby Jake Stump
Daily Mail Capitol Reporter
CHARLESTON, W.Va. Sen. Randy White is all for raising the cigarette tax. Yet one of the folks who would get slammed with an extra 65 cents a pack would be the senator himself.
Legislation has been introduced...
March 09, 2009 | Opinion article / Charleston GazetteBy Phil Kabler
Sometimes at the Legislature, the solutions to seemingly simple problems (like fitting 180 instructional days into a 43-week period) are elusive, and seemingly simple solutions are overcomplicated.
Take the menu-labeling bill ...
February 26, 2009 | CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The governor today announced the launch of a new Web page comprising West Virginia Stimulus Information at www.wvgov.org.
This Web page will give constituents up-to-date information about the stimulus dollars that the State of West...
February 13, 2009 | Charleston Daily Mailby Michelle Saxton
CHARLESTON, W.Va. West Virginia should focus on more efficient, preventive health care as a way to help slow the high costs of treating chronic disease, AARP members say.
"Chronic care folks are consuming the lion's share of...
February 11, 2009 | Full TextGovernor Joe Manchin’s 2009 State of the State Speech
Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Board of Public Works, Justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals, Members of the Legislature, Distinguished Guests and my fellow West Virginians:
I am...
February 11, 2009 | Charleston GazetteA bundle of healthy lifestyle initiatives - including draft bills to require restaurant chains to post the calorie content of all menu items, and to increase the state cigarette tax to $1.20 a pack - won endorsement Tuesday from a legislative Select...
February 10, 2009 | Associated PressFebruary 10, 2009
State schools struggle to meet healthy guidelines
A new report says West Virginia schools should require recess more often and mandate the sale of healthy foods to improve their students' overall health.
By
The Associated...
February 08, 2009 | Huntington Herald-DispatchLAURA WILCOX
The Herald-Dispatch
CHARLESTON Many legislators view addressing West Virginia's health problems as a must this year, but no one's saying fixing those problems will be easy.
Of the many issues, affordable health coverage, substance...
January 22, 2009 | Charelston Gazette editorialAn obituary described how West Virginia artist Teresa Pauley struggled for years seeking health insurance for self-employed Mountain State artisans and crafts makers. That points to a wider dilemma.
America's for-profit medical system is an...
January 14, 2009 | Beckley Register-Heraldby Mannix Porterfield
CHARLESTON — Providing a tax credit for small businesses that offer health coverage would go a long way toward shrinking the ranks of the uninsured in West Virginia, an Emory University official told lawmakers Tuesday.
An...
January 02, 2009 | Associated PressCHARLESTON, W.Va. Health care coverage for all West Virginians has long been the Holy Grail of health policy in the state, and if the optimism of advocates and policymakers is any guide, 2009 could see them advance closer to that goal.
With a governor...
November 17, 2008 | Associated PressHUNTINGTON - As a portly woman plodded ahead of him on the sidewalk, the obese mayor of America's fattest and unhealthiest city explained why health is not a big local issue.
"It doesn't come up," said David Felinton, 5-foot-9 and 233 pounds, as he...
November 07, 2008 | Associated PressVows to extend coverage to every uninsured working West Virginian
CHARLESTON — Buoyed by the largest victory margin ever won by someone seeking his office, Gov. Joe Manchin vowed Thursday to extend health coverage to every uninsured working West...
October 27, 2008 | Editorial, Charleston GazetteCHARLESTON, W.Va. Year after year, access to regular, reliable health care in this country gets more expensive and more difficult to hang on to.
Just this week, Families USA reported that health insurance premiums in West Virginia rose four times...
October 16, 2008 | Press Release from Governor Joe ManchinProgram provides outreach to returning veterans
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – With the ongoing military conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, returning service members face many healthcare challenges. Specific challenges include the need for counseling services...
October 15, 2008 | Huntington Herald DispatchBy CHRISTIAN ALEXANDERSEN
The Herald-Dispatch
HUNTINGTON Professionals in the state's health care industry took the opportunity to speak directly to the legislators that can make a difference in making health care affordable and available in West...
October 15, 2008 | Marshall University ParthenonBy Katlyn Goots
Members of the community, including senators, legislators, doctors and lawyers, gathered Tuesday to discuss solutions for health care reform in West Virginia.
Officials with the West Virginia Legislature's Interim Select Committee D...
October 02, 2008 | West Virginia MetroNewsToo many West Virginians are going without healthcare and that has to change. That's the message from the West Virginia Campaign for a Healthy Future. The group released a new poll Thursday that shows 88 percent of state residents support health care...
October 02, 2008 | Associated Press (Forbes.com)By KELLEY GILLENWATER 10.02.08, 2:55 PM ET
CHARLESTON, W.VA. - The majority of West Virginia residents with weight and health problems admit they need help, but many don't see a doctor because they can't afford it or can't get there.
Eighty-four...
October 02, 2008 | Charleston Daily Mailby Cheryl Caswell
Daily Mail staff
CHARLESTON, W.Va. A group of businesses and healthcare groups are joining forces to help make health care more accessible and affordable in West Virginia.
West Virginians' Campaign for a Healthy Future planned to...
October 02, 2008 | Charleston, W.Va.A new poll shows 88% of state residents support reform
More than 30 business, labor, health care advocacy and health care provider groups, several of which have worked at opposite ends of political issues in the past, have come together to form a...
September 23, 2008 | W.Va. Legislature/Vision Shared Press ReleaseFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 23, 2008
LEGISLATURE AND VISION SHARED SET TO HOST SECOND HEALTH CARE REFORM PUBLIC FORUM
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Officials with the West Virginia Legislature’s Interim Select Committee D on Health and Vision Shared...
September 11, 2008 | State JournalThe Roadmap to Health Project is a legislative initiative to build a "state-of-the-art" health care system in West Virginia.
Story by Walt William, State Journal
FAIRMONT Cathy Reed of Fairmont had an idea about one way the state could reform health...
September 09, 2008 | Fairmont Times-West VirginianBy Paul Fallon
Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT — Health-care reform has been a hot political topic for decades, and a public forum was held Monday night at the Falcon Center on Fairmont State’s campus to discuss the issue.
The public forum was the...
September 04, 2008 | Charleston GazetteWomen in southern West Virginia are living shorter lives than women in much of the nation, according to a report released today.
By Eric Eyre
Charleston Gazette
CHARLESTON, W.Va. Women in southern West Virginia are living shorter lives than women in...
June 21, 2008 | Letter to the Editor Charleston GazetteLetter to the Editor
Charleston Gazette
Health-care legislation good for West Virginia
Editor:
Health-care reform is both a moral and economic imperative. Health care should be a basic right, along with the necessities of food and shelter.
...
May 20, 2008 | West Virginia Public Radio TranscriptNational expert to lead WV health care reform
May 20, 2008
Transcript
For years now, West Virginia lawmakers have been tossing around different initiatives and policy adjustments to lower the cost of health care. They’ve included a council on...
May 20, 2008 | Charleston GazetteEmory professor to design new health system for state
By Phil Kabler
Charleston Gazette
Kenneth Thorpe has a tough challenge ahead: Oversee the design of a more efficient, less expensive health-care system for West Virginia.
On Monday,...
May 19, 2008 | West Virginia MetroNewsWest Virginia's health care system is getting set to go into the repair shop and supporters of the makeover say it could change the face of health care in the state for years to come.
A state legislative interim committee has hired Doctor Kenneth...
May 19, 2008 | Beckley Register-HeraldBy Mannix Porterfield
Beckley Register-Herald
CHARLESTON — West Virginia jumped out of the starting box Monday en route to a goal line of universal health care for a citizenry beset with an obesity problem that triggers multiple disorders.
And it’s...
May 19, 2008 | Associated PressCHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia suffers from some of the worst health problems in the country, but lawmakers believe the system can be vastly improved without significantly raising costs.
The Legislature’s two health committee chairmen...
May 18, 2008 | Op/Ed Charleston GazetteBy Delegate Don Perdue and Senator Roman Prezioso
As chairmen of the House and Senate's respective health committees, we are all too familiar with West Virginia's negative rankings for afflictions such as cancer, heart disease, addiction and obesity....