West Virginia

In 2002, West Virginia received HRSA State Planning Grant funds to assure that the current levels of coverage in West Virginia's public and private health care programs are maintained. The state also developed an incremental plan that makes affordable quality coverage available to all West Virginians with the aim of reducing by half the non-elderly adult uninsured rate from 20 percent to 10 percent within five years.

Activities conducted under the grant include a household survey, an employer survey, and focus groups. The State Planning Grant team created a communications plan to keep the uninsured issue on the front burner for state policy makers, the public, and other stakeholders. In addition, two background papers were developed. The first explored the role of the safety net in caring for the uninsured in the state and the other explored the administrative savings associated with simplified public insurance programs.

In 2004, West Virginia received a HRSA pilot project planning grant to develop options to offer affordable health insurance to the pre-Medicare population (aged 50 to 64), specifically those who have lost and are at risk of losing their retiree benefits.