Efforts like The Fulcher Legacy Fund are powerful, necessary and deeply meaningful — but they are not a substitute for real solutions. Addressing medical debt at its root requires policy change: stronger consumer protections, expanded financial assistance and a health care system that prioritizes people over profit. It means reinforcing programs like Medicaid that provide a critical foundation for families across the state.
Federal Policy | hospitals, | medicaid, | workforce
In just days, the escalating conflict with Iran has already cost the United States an estimated $6 billion. Those same billions could have protected Americans’ health coverage instead.
Last month, I had the rare privilege of testifying before the health subcommittee of the United States House Energy and Commerce Committee….I came away with mixed impressions.
The tax credits are ending because policymakers are choosing to end them. Premiums are rising because policymakers are dismantling the support that kept them down. Coverage will be lost because no meaningful replacement was enacted.
New national polling from KFF, a leading health policy nonprofit, shows just how serious the situation is. About 84% of ACA enrollees — including strong majorities across the political spectrum — want Congress to restore the tax credits that help almost 22 million Americans afford coverage. This is not a partisan issue. It is an economic necessity.
Greenbrier Valley Medical Center in rural West Virginia announced it will no longer offer labor and delivery services after April 2026. The decision comes as part of a “reclassification” to become a Critical Access Hospital, a shift the hospital says is necessary under federal policy changes tied to Capito Care — the “Big, Beautiful Bill” — that cuts Medicaid funding by $1.1 trillion.
The tax credits that helped reduce West Virginia’s uninsured rate from approximately 20% to below 6% didn’t vanish by accident. Congress is letting them expire.
