Health chief applauds West Virginia for reducing uninsured
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – The head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is praising West Virginia for significantly reducing the number of residents without insurance.
The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that Secretary Sylvia Matthews Burwell told advocates at the University of Charleston on Friday that West Virginia is one of the few states in the country with near universal coverage among children.
She says that more than 187,000 West Virginia residents received health care coverage through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program since the state chose to expand Medicaid eligibility under the federal health care law. About 31,000 residents bought coverage on the health care exchange.
Burwell, who’s from Hinton, said West Virginia still faces big health care challenges, including high rates of obesity, diabetes and smoking.