West Virginia patients are left in limbo over changing insurance coverage of obesity medications

1 week ago

West Virginia patients are left in limbo over changing insurance coverage of obesity medications

The Independent

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Citing a gross cost of $1.4 million a month, West Virginia abruptly announced in March it would indefinitely pause a pilot program covering weight loss drugs for 1,000 public employees, leaving patients like her scrambling. West Virginia’s Public Employee Insurance Agency will continue covering the popular and expensive GLP-1 drugs to treat Type 2 diabetes. Dr. Laura Davisson, medical weight management director at West Virginia University, said losing coverage for medications is a “nightmare” for patients. PEIA Director Brian Cunningham said GLP-1s, which the state began offering for weight loss in 2019, cost the program around $53 million last fiscal year — about 20% of what PEIA spends on drugs.

Weight Loss Insurance Medicare Loss Drugs Patients West Virginia Coverage Weight Cost West Virginia State Medicaid Wegovy Glp Osborn Obesity Medications Peia cost west drugs insurance patients obesity medications limbo left state coverage changing loss weight virginia

History of this topic

West Virginia patients are left in limbo over changing insurance coverage of obesity medications

1 week ago

West Virginia patients are left in limbo over changing insurance coverage of obesity medications

Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Lory Osborn says the Wegovy she was prescribed 15 months ago did more than help her lose 75 pounds — over a quarter of her body weight. Citing a gross cost of $1.4 million a month, West Virginia abruptly announced in March it would indefinitely pause a pilot program covering weight loss drugs for 1,000 public employees, …

Discover Related

West Virginia’s state health officer resigns but will continue opioid nonprofit work

3 weeks, 2 days ago

West Virginia’s state health officer resigns but will continue opioid nonprofit work

Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s state health officer, who was recently reelected as a leader of the private nonprofit charged with distributing much of the state’s opioid settlement dollars, has resigned. The allocation of West Virginia opioid settlement money is intended to bolster an initial $15 million federal investment in the Appalachian Continuum of Care for Overdose Reduction Network project. …

Health Work West Virginia West Virginia State Christiansen

Doctors weigh societal costs of using drugs to treat obesity crisis

1 month ago

Doctors weigh societal costs of using drugs to treat obesity crisis

ABC

It could be one of the most transformative medical advancements since the contraceptive pill: an injection of a peptide that mimics a hormone to suppress appetite. Yet beyond the controversies over side effects — nausea, headaches and even pancreatitis — these drugs mark a pivotal moment in addressing one of the world's most pressing health crises. A national report — …

Health Healthcare Weight Loss Drugs Costs Economic Medications

Mississippi could suffer the most if health insurance subsidies lapse

1 month ago

Mississippi could suffer the most if health insurance subsidies lapse

Associated Press

A new report warns Mississippi could see the steepest drop off in health insurance coverage if Congress doesn’t vote to extend temporary health coverage subsidies at the end of next year. Over 100,000 Mississippians would lose health insurance – a 43% increase in the state’s already-high uninsured rate – the policy think tank The Urban Institute predicted last month. “Our …

Tax Congress Health Insurance Care Coverage Premium Mississippi

RFK Jr. Could Tank Biden's Ozempic Decision

1 month, 1 week ago

RFK Jr. Could Tank Biden's Ozempic Decision

Huff Post

LOADING ERROR LOADING The prospect of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. presiding over the Department of Health and Human Services has sparked a lot of conversation about vaccines. The country’s national health system still covers and supports use of the new anti-obesity drugs, though guidelines urge providers and patients to try cheaper alternatives first. The group is among those that have …

Health Medicare Drugs Trump Obesity Administration Coverage

Cheap Ozempic? Millions of obese Americans wait on Trump’s decision

1 month, 1 week ago

Cheap Ozempic? Millions of obese Americans wait on Trump’s decision

The Independent

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The rule, unveiled on Tuesday by the Health …

Health Medicare Drugs Trump Obesity Coverage Kennedy

Cheap Ozempic? How millions of Americans with obesity may get access to costly weight-loss drugs

Trending News

1 month, 1 week ago

Cheap Ozempic? How millions of Americans with obesity may get access to costly weight-loss drugs

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Millions of obese Americans would get access to popular weekly injectables that would help them shed pounds quickly if a $ 35 billion proposal from the Biden administration is blessed by President-elect Donald Trump. The rule, unveiled Tuesday by the Health and Human Services Department, would require Medicare and Medicaid to cover weight-loss drugs like Wegovy or Zepbound …

Health Medicare Drugs Trump Obesity Proposal Coverage

Biden proposes huge expansion of weight loss drug access

1 month, 2 weeks ago

Biden proposes huge expansion of weight loss drug access

Raw Story

by Danny KEMP Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden proposed Tuesday to give millions more Americans access to weight loss drugs -- but Donald Trump's incoming health chief looked set to shoot down the idea. Any plan to increase US public health insurance spending would also likely run foul of Trump's bid to slash government budgets and waste. Trump said last …

Health Medicare Trump Kennedy Biden Drug Americans

Biden proposes Medicare and Medicaid cover costly weight-loss drugs for millions of obese Americans

1 month, 2 weeks ago

Biden proposes Medicare and Medicaid cover costly weight-loss drugs for millions of obese Americans

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Millions of Americans with obesity would be eligible to have popular weight-loss drugs like Wegovy or Zepbound covered by Medicare or Medicaid under a new rule the Biden administration proposed Tuesday morning. The costly proposal from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services immediately sets the stage for a showdown between the powerful pharmaceutical industry and Robert …

Medicare Drugs Trump Obesity Coverage Kennedy Biden

Medicaid fuels US coverage of Novo, Lilly weight-loss drugs

1 month, 3 weeks ago

Medicaid fuels US coverage of Novo, Lilly weight-loss drugs

Live Mint

* U.S. government health plans cover 52.2 million for new weight-loss drugs * An estimated 24.4 million in commercial plans have similar coverage * Fourteen state Medicaid programs cover GLP-1 drugs for obesity By Chad Terhune Nov 18 - U.S. government health plans account for the lion's share of coverage for popular new weight-loss drugs, far beyond the reimbursement available …

Health Insurance Drugs Million Reuters Medicaid Novo

Opinion: I’m a doctor in East L.A. and Beverly Hills. I want to treat obesity the same way in both places

2 months, 1 week ago

Opinion: I’m a doctor in East L.A. and Beverly Hills. I want to treat obesity the same way in both places

LA Times

As a diabetes specialist, I’ve treated thousands of patients, some in Beverly Hills and some in East Los Angeles. In East Los Angeles, where for some a home refrigerator can be a luxury, diabetes and obesity afflict thousands of families who depend on fast and processed food to provide the affordable calories they need to survive. But at least one …

Food Medicare Drugs Diabetes Obesity Patients East

Your employer may start covering weight-loss drugs soon

3 months ago

Your employer may start covering weight-loss drugs soon

CNN

CNN — Hoping your company will begin paying for anti-obesity medications like Wegovy? While employers typically cover the medications for diabetes, fewer of them do so for weight loss, in part because of the drugs’ high prices — which have also limited Americans’ access to them. Hollie Adams/Reuters Still, more than a quarter of employers are considering adding coverage for …

Health Benefits Weight Loss Drugs Costs Workers Coverage

Column: The Ozempic revolution in weight-loss drugs exposes the weakest links in our healthcare system — drug pricing and insurance

4 months, 1 week ago

Column: The Ozempic revolution in weight-loss drugs exposes the weakest links in our healthcare system — drug pricing and insurance

LA Times

The diabetes and weight-loss drug Ozempic. This limits the length of time that health gains can be internalized as reduced claims.’ — David Anderson, University of South Carolina health policy expert Yet millions of Americans are unable to access these drugs, thanks to the two big, interrelated flaws in our healthcare system: unrestrained pricing by drug companies and the economics …

Health Healthcare Weight Loss Medicare Drugs Coverage Weight

Unassuming city that's become America's Ozempic weight loss epicenter - and it isn't LA or NYC

5 months ago

Unassuming city that's become America's Ozempic weight loss epicenter - and it isn't LA or NYC

Daily Mail

The Ozempic boom has dominated Hollywood and the world of social media influencers looking to drop a few stubborn pounds. WEIGHT LOSS HOTSPOT: A very unassuming city that's feeling this boom more than anywhere else in America: Bowling Green, Kentucky A NEW WOMAN: Mary Ellis lost 80 pounds on Ozempic APPLE OF HER EYE: Mary's husband has started taking it …

Weight Loss Loss Bowling Green Weight Ozempic Pounds

West Virginia is asking the US Supreme Court to consider transgender surgery Medicaid coverage case

5 months, 2 weeks ago

West Virginia is asking the US Supreme Court to consider transgender surgery Medicaid coverage case

Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review rulings that found the state’s refusal to cover certain health care for transgender people with government- In April, the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Andrew Schneider, executive director of LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Fairness West Virginia, said Thursday that the state has “a moral obligation to care for its vulnerable …

Court Surgery Care North Carolina Case West Virginia

Stigma, fatphobia, and a cure? How obesity became a disease.

6 months, 4 weeks ago

Stigma, fatphobia, and a cure? How obesity became a disease.

Slate

Ever since it showed up on the Body Mass Index, the label “obese” has been used to judge and often shame people with larger bodies. Medical providers, family and friends, even strangers make assumptions about fat people’s health solely based on their size. The American Medical Association, the National Institutes of Health, and the American Obesity Society all classify obesity …

Medical Stigma Fatphobia

Millions of Americans need drugs like Ozempic. Will it bankrupt the healthcare system?

7 months, 1 week ago

Millions of Americans need drugs like Ozempic. Will it bankrupt the healthcare system?

LA Times

Injectable weight-loss drugs can prevent serious health problems, which makes them extremely valuable. The financial impact on Medicare is tempered by a 2003 federal law that prevents the government health insurance program from covering weight-loss medications.The drugs can be added to formularies if prescribed for another “medically accepted indication,” such as to treat type 2 diabetes or reduce heart risk, …

Health Weight Loss Medicare Drugs Obesity Prices Weight

Doctors declare Ozempic overrated as first long-term trial shows patients keep just 10% of their bodyweight off after four YEARS on drug

7 months, 3 weeks ago

Doctors declare Ozempic overrated as first long-term trial shows patients keep just 10% of their bodyweight off after four YEARS on drug

Daily Mail

They've been billed as 'miracle' drugs and are credited with spurring incredible weight-loss transformations in Hollywood. Wegovy, developed by the Danish Novo Nordisk, is a weekly injectable drug that leads to 10 percent weight loss on average. The new study was from Ozempic manufacturer Novo Nordisk and looked at 17,604 adults across 40 countries taking Wegovy, which is the same …

Weight Loss Drugs Body Weight Ozempic Drug Study

West Virginia’s and North Carolina’s transgender care coverage policies discriminate, judges rule

8 months, 1 week ago

West Virginia’s and North Carolina’s transgender care coverage policies discriminate, judges rule

Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s and North Carolina’s refusal to cover certain health care for transgender people with government- The Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 8-6 in the case involving coverage of gender-affirming care by North Carolina’s state employee health plan and the coverage of gender-affirming surgery by West Virginia Medicaid. Specifically, North Carolina’s policy bars treatment …

Health Court Gender Transgender Care North Carolina Gender Identity

W. Virginia and N. Carolina’s transgender care coverage policies discriminate, judges rule

8 months, 1 week ago

W. Virginia and N. Carolina’s transgender care coverage policies discriminate, judges rule

LA Times

Connor Thonen-Fleck addresses reporters while his parents stand by his side, March 11, 2019, in Durham, N.C. West Virginia and North Carolina’s refusal to cover certain healthcare for transgender people with government- The Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 8-6 in the case involving coverage of gender-affirming care by North Carolina’s state employee health plan and the coverage …

Court Hormone Therapy Transgender Care North Carolina West Virginia

‘Miracle’ weight-loss drugs could have reduced health disparities. Instead they got worse

8 months, 3 weeks ago

‘Miracle’ weight-loss drugs could have reduced health disparities. Instead they got worse

LA Times

Wegovy is part of a new generation of weight-loss medications that made some doctors optimistic about reversing longstanding racial and ethnic disparities in obesity. “These patients have a higher burden of disease, and they’re less likely to get the medicine that can save their lives,” said Dr. Lauren Eberly, a cardiologist and health services researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. …

Health Weight Loss Loss Drugs Black Obesity Patients

Medicare can pay for obesity drugs like Wegovy in certain heart patients

9 months, 2 weeks ago

Medicare can pay for obesity drugs like Wegovy in certain heart patients

The Independent

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Medicare can pay for the …

Medicare Obesity Heart Plans Drug Wegovy Obesity Drugs

Medicare can now cover Wegovy for more senior citizens

9 months, 2 weeks ago

Medicare can now cover Wegovy for more senior citizens

CNN

CNN — Medicare could start covering Wegovy for certain senior citizens and other beneficiaries with a history of heart disease now that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved drugmaker Novo Nordisk’s application to add cardiovascular benefits to the medicine’s label. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it has informed insurers that provide Medicare Part D drug …

Medicare Cardiovascular Disease Cardiovascular Cnn Approval Medicaid Fda

Weight-loss drugs aren't a magic bullet. Lifestyle changes are key to lasting health

10 months, 4 weeks ago

Weight-loss drugs aren't a magic bullet. Lifestyle changes are key to lasting health

NPR

Weight-loss drugs aren't a magic bullet. Drugs don't address root causes of America's health crisis Yet even as many may adopt the newest medications, we need to recognize and address their limitations, including a lack of long-term safety data and potential side effects like nausea, vomiting and, rarely, pancreatitis and gallbladder disease. Lifestyle medicine practitioners partner with patients to understand …

Health Weight Loss Medicine Disease Drugs Obesity Patients

New weight loss drugs are out of reach for millions of older Americans because Medicare won’t pay

1 year ago

New weight loss drugs are out of reach for millions of older Americans because Medicare won’t pay

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — New obesity drugs are showing promising results in helping some people shed pounds but the injections will remain out of reach for millions of older Americans because Medicare is forbidden to cover such medications. As obesity rates rise among older adults, some lawmakers say the United States cannot afford to keep a decades-old law that prohibits Medicare from …

Health Weight Loss Research Medicare Drugs Congress Obesity

New weight-loss drugs are out of reach for millions of older Americans because Medicare won’t pay

1 year ago

New weight-loss drugs are out of reach for millions of older Americans because Medicare won’t pay

LA Times

Still, the upfront price tag for lifting the rule remains a challenge. Some research shows offering weight-loss drugs would assure Medicare’s impending bankruptcy. A Vanderbilt University analysis this year put an annual price of about $26 billion on anti-obesity drugs for Medicare if just 10% of the system’s enrollees were prescribed the medication. An analysis this year from USC’s Schaeffer …

Medicare Cost Older Americans

Years after strike, West Virginia public workers push back against another insurance cost increase

1 year, 1 month ago

Years after strike, West Virginia public workers push back against another insurance cost increase

Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The agency in charge of managing health insurance for more than 200,000 government workers in West Virginia is facing pushback over proposed premium increases, five years after public school employees went on strike over rising health care costs. The state Public Employees Insurance Agency is proposing a premium hike that would amount to a 35% increase in …

Insurance Justice Employees West Virginia West Virginia State

Forget gym memberships. Employees want Ozempic in their benefits packages

1 year, 1 month ago

Forget gym memberships. Employees want Ozempic in their benefits packages

LA Times

As the popularity of pricey drugs such as Ozempic has risen, so too has the demand for companies to cover them as part of their benefits packages for employees. The craze around pricey weight-loss drugs has many people clamoring for these treatments in company- Less than half of large employers cover the new generation of obesity drugs, but an additional …

Drugs Ozempic Employers Mercer

It’s time to buy health insurance through the marketplace. Experts suggest doing your research first

1 year, 2 months ago

It’s time to buy health insurance through the marketplace. Experts suggest doing your research first

Associated Press

It’s time to pick health coverage for next year on the Affordable Care Act’s insurance marketplaces, and experts caution against focusing your choice on price alone. Many people who haven’t shopped on the marketplace don’t know that they can get this help, according to Jeremy Smith, who directs West Virginia’s health insurance navigator program. “They’re just used to having health …

Health Insurance Health Insurance Care Coverage Help Smith

Employer-sponsored health coverage costs jumped this year. More hikes may be coming

1 year, 2 months ago

Employer-sponsored health coverage costs jumped this year. More hikes may be coming

Associated Press

The cost of health coverage through work jumped this year, in part because of inflation, according to a survey of U.S. employers. Later this fall, companies begin their annual coverage enrollment window for 2024, and health care experts say another price hike could be coming. “It’s hard to imagine that there won’t be another year of health care cost increases, …

Health Care Kff Noted

Supply problems and insurance issues make popular weight-loss drugs hard to get

1 year, 3 months ago

Supply problems and insurance issues make popular weight-loss drugs hard to get

Associated Press

When she prescribes the popular weight-loss drug Wegovy, Dr. Angela Fitch sends patients on a quest she likens to “The Hunger Games.” They will have to call drugstores over several days to find one with the properly sized first dose. Supply problems and insurance complications have made it difficult for people to start — and stay on — Wegovy and …

Insurance Drugs Supply Obesity Patients Drug Wegovy

West Virginia University students push back on program and faculty cuts after $45M budget shortfall

1 year, 4 months ago

West Virginia University students push back on program and faculty cuts after $45M budget shortfall

Associated Press

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Hundreds of West Virginia University students wearing red T-shirts and bandanas to symbolize their connection to striking coal miners a century ago staged protests Monday against an administration proposal to cut 9% of majors amid a $45 million budget shortfall. Yelling “stop the cuts” with the crowd outside the school’s student union in Morgantown, second-year creative writing …

University West West Virginia State Think Program Programs

Everyone at West Virginia University Knew Something Was Up. I Hate That We Were Right.

1 year, 4 months ago

Everyone at West Virginia University Knew Something Was Up. I Hate That We Were Right.

Slate

West Virginia University would like you to believe that its plan to make draconian budget cuts is strictly a financial decision. WVU, West Virginia’s flagship land-grant university, which is located in the small city of Morgantown on the state’s northern border with Pennsylvania, is rushing to eliminate 9 percent of its majors, all foreign language programs, and 16 percent of …

Education Higher Education Students University West Virginia West Virginia

Teens with severe obesity are turning to surgery and new weight loss drugs

1 year, 6 months ago

Teens with severe obesity are turning to surgery and new weight loss drugs

Associated Press

John Simon III was a hungry baby, a “chunky” toddler and a chubby little boy, his mother said. “It was like a whole new start,” said John, who will start high school in California this fall. Some on social media accused doctors and parents of taking the easy way out, blaming things like junk food or video games — or …

Health Kids School Obesity Weight John Stanford

Ron DeSantis Is Letting Hundreds Of Thousands Of Poor Floridians Lose Health Coverage

1 year, 7 months ago

Ron DeSantis Is Letting Hundreds Of Thousands Of Poor Floridians Lose Health Coverage

Huff Post

Florida’s Ron DeSantis is now officially a candidate for president, and so far his campaign is going about as expected. The states agreed, and it’s one reason that Medicaid enrollment swelled ― which, in turn, was partly why the number of Americans without health insurance fell to record lows. The Medicaid Purge In Florida The state’s official data showed that, …

Florida States Trump Health Insurance Care Coverage Oregon

Lifesaving or stigmatizing? Parents wrestle with obesity treatment options for kids

1 year, 7 months ago

Lifesaving or stigmatizing? Parents wrestle with obesity treatment options for kids

NPR

Parents wrestle with obesity treatment options for kids Enlarge this image Janice Chang for NPR Janice Chang for NPR Two mothers — Jen McLellan in Albuquerque, N.M., and Grace, of Bethesda, Md. McLellan says doctors often push diets and drugs to achieve cosmetic fixes, not to solve actual medical problems — she herself didn't face health issues related to her …

Weight Loss Children Kids Medical Parents Treatment Body

Lawsuit seeking to revoke West Virginia abortion ban dropped

1 year, 8 months ago

Lawsuit seeking to revoke West Virginia abortion ban dropped

Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — An abortion provider on Monday dropped a two-month-old federal lawsuit seeking to overturn West Virginia’s near-total ban. The Women’s Health Center of West Virginia said in a court filing that its primary physician determined he will be unable to resume providing abortion care in the state “due to intervening professional obligations.” Another physician who provided abortion care …

Law Abortion West Virginia West Virginia State Charleston

West Virginia governor signs ban on gender-affirming care

1 year, 9 months ago

West Virginia governor signs ban on gender-affirming care

Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Republican Gov. The West Virginia law comes as Republican lawmakers across the U.S. have pursued several hundred proposals this year to push back on LGBTQ+ rights, particularly rights for transgender residents, including banning transgender girls from girls sports, keeping transgender people from using restrooms in line with their gender identities and allowing or requiring schools …

Gender Transgender West Virginia Republican West Virginia Other States

How to shop for new insurance if you lose Medicaid coverage

1 year, 9 months ago

How to shop for new insurance if you lose Medicaid coverage

Associated Press

Medicaid coverage will end for millions of Americans in the coming months, and it will push many into unfamiliar territory: the health insurance marketplace. But all states have insurance markets where people who lose Medicaid can buy new coverage with help from subsidies. WHERE TO GET NEW COVERAGE State-based health insurance marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act are the …

States Health Insurance Help Plan Smith Shop Shoppers

Conn. woman 1st non-Vermonter granted assisted suicide right

1 year, 9 months ago

Conn. woman 1st non-Vermonter granted assisted suicide right

Associated Press

MONTPELIER, Vt. — Lynda Bluestein has terminal cancer and knows she’ll likely die soon, but until Tuesday, she didn’t know if she’d be able to choose how or when and whether her family, friends and dog would be with her when the time comes. Bluestein’s settlement and pending legislation that would remove Vermont’s residency requirement offer a ray of hope …

Cancer State Legislature Die Connecticut Residency Bluestein

West Virginia GOP Legislature passes transgender care ban

1 year, 9 months ago

West Virginia GOP Legislature passes transgender care ban

Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A bill that would ban evidence-based health care for transgender minors in West Virginia, the state estimated to have more transgender youth per capita than any other in the nation, is headed to the desk of Gov. But lawmakers in West Virginia and other states advancing bans on transgender health care for youth and young adults often …

Health Youth Medical Therapy Hormone Therapy West Virginia

WV Senate joins GOP effort to limit trans youth health care

1 year, 9 months ago

WV Senate joins GOP effort to limit trans youth health care

Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s Republican supermajority Senate followed a growing national trend of GOP opposition to health care for transgender youth by passing a bill that would ban certain treatments and therapies, while approving a significant change to add exceptions for mental health. He found a supporter in Senate Health and Human Resources Committee Chair Sen. Mike Maroney, another …

Health Youth Mental Health Medical Health Care Gender Therapy

West Virginia GOP divided over gender-affirming care ban

1 year, 10 months ago

West Virginia GOP divided over gender-affirming care ban

Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Divided Republicans on a West Virginia state Senate committee voted to advance a bill Thursday that would outlaw certain kinds of healthcare for transgender youth, ignoring pleas from a medical provider who said she feared the legislation will put her patients’ lives at risk. But interventions like puberty blockers and hormone therapy — which Kidd and other …

Health Medical Therapy Hormone Therapy Care Senate West Virginia

Senate Democrats urge White House to rein in ‘junk’ health plans boosted by Trump

1 year, 10 months ago

Senate Democrats urge White House to rein in ‘junk’ health plans boosted by Trump

Raw Story

Sen. Tammy Baldwin and more than two dozen other Democratic senators called on the Biden administration Wednesday to rein in short-term health plans that don’t follow minimum standards for health coverage set by the federal Affordable Care Act. U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin “We must protect those who will be looking for coverage in the near future, and take steps to …

Health Trump Coverage Plans Sen Baldwin Insurance Plans

Democrats push to let all residents buy into MinnesotaCare

1 year, 11 months ago

Democrats push to let all residents buy into MinnesotaCare

Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Lawmakers went to work Wednesday on a proposal to allow all residents to buy into the state-run MinnesotaCare health insurance program, not just low-income workers struggling to get by. Tim Walz have been pushing for several years to expand MinnesotaCare into a low-cost “public option” for health insurance that would be available to everyone. The “public …

State Insurance Plans Minnesotacare

West Virginia House passes gender-affirming treatment ban

1 year, 11 months ago

West Virginia House passes gender-affirming treatment ban

Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s Republican supermajority House of Delegates passed a bill Friday banning gender-affirming surgery and hormone therapy for minors, a day after crowds descended on the state Capitol to decry the proposal. It provides exceptions for individuals born with a “medically verifiable disorder” including people with “external biological sex characteristics that are irresolvably ambiguous” and for people …

Treatment Democratic West Virginia Republican West Virginia House

Crowds decry gender-affirming treatment ban in West Virginia

1 year, 11 months ago

Crowds decry gender-affirming treatment ban in West Virginia

Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Crowds at the West Virginia state Capitol pleaded with lawmakers Thursday to show as much compassion for saving the lives of transgender children as they showed for unborn fetuses when they voted to ban abortion just months ago. Over and over, dozens of doctors, parents and LGBTQ people told the Republican supermajority during a hearing that a …

Children Transgender Care West Virginia Republican West Virginia

West Virginia lawmakers advance ban on gender-affirming care

1 year, 11 months ago

West Virginia lawmakers advance ban on gender-affirming care

Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia lawmakers in the House Judiciary Committee voted Monday to add a ban on hormone therapy to a bill prohibiting gender-affirming surgery for minors before advancing the legislation to the full House of Delegates. One Democratic lawmaker said the legislation “bullies people.” Republicans in support of the legislation insisted that they don’t want to harm transgender …

Health Medical Hormone Therapy Transgender Democratic Care Republican

West Virginia ban on minors’ gender-affirming care advances

1 year, 11 months ago

West Virginia ban on minors’ gender-affirming care advances

Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A bill that would ban physicians from providing gender-affirming surgery to minors is advancing in West Virginia. West Virginia lawmakers in the House Health and Human Resources Committee greenlit the legislation after little discussion Thursday, sending it to the House Judiciary Committee. Children should know and adults should know in the people’s house they have a safe …

Health Transgender West West Virginia Republicans Lgbtq Bill