| The Bush administrations cut-back of Medicaid funds is throwing West Virginia's health care delivery system into a quandary.
West Virginia Hospital Association CEO Steven Summer says the $30 million gap will trickle down to almost every taxpayer, putting hundreds of thousands of state Medicaid recipients in jeopardy of not getting the care they need.
With health care costs continuing to soar and fewer and fewer people being able to afford insurance, the problem mounts.
The problem now is that West Virginia is being challenged to come up with the $30 million in matching money. The state will lose $116 million in health care.
It is likely the issue will be placed before a special session of the legislature.
The 300,000 West Virginians who rely on Medicaid to take care of their medical bills will get hit the hardest, but the average taxpayer takes a hit as well.
The cuts will filter down to every hospital, doctor and health service in the state, including Minnie Hamilton Health Care Center in Grantsville.
MHHCC provides multiple levels of service linked to Medicaid money, everything from emergency room and clinic care to long term care.
About 10% of people seeking treatment at MHHCC have private insurance.
Also hit is the state's mental health services.
David Ramsey, chief executive officer and president of Charleston Area Medical Center, said the cuts could mean 620 fewer jobs at the hospitals around WV.
The federal government funds the state $3 for every $1 committed to Medicaid.
The cutbacks will erode the state's ability to care for children, disabled adults and the elderly, according to Steven Summer, president of the West Virginia Hospital Association.
Medicaid cuts will force shifting of costs to the private sector.
Larry Matheney, secretary-treasurer of the state AFL-CIO, said it's difficult to keep insurance for working members, saying the government continues to dance around a health care system that continues to be in crisis.
Insurance coverage continues to be "written-down" and eliminated by American businesses, no longer able to afford the benefit. Private citizens, unless they are wealthy, cannot afford the premiums.
Meanwhile, the USA is spending more money by far on health care than any country in the world.
Charleston Area Medical Center says 55 percent of the women who give birth are covered by Medicaid and about 45 percent of those patients using the emergency department are on Medicaid.
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