| West Virginia is planning to slash millions of dollars in Medicaid spending, based on cut-backs by the Bush administration.
While reducing services to the 300,000 low-income people in West Virginia, the cut-backs are expected to hurt hospitals, drug stores and nursing homes.
The Bush administration says Medicaid spending is growing too fast and must be brought under control.
Medicaid is a state-federal program that provides health care for low-income West Virginians with children, as well as the needy, aged, blind and disabled.
Medicaid has been relied upon to provide nursing home care for the elderly who have been unable to pay for such services.
The state Department of Health and Human Resources said it needs to cut nearly $116 million dollars out of Medicaid because it faces a $156 million-dollar deficit.
The state is expected to lose about $36 million during the next budget year because the federal match rate will drop.
The move comes despite a $105 million-dollar surplus for the fiscal year that ended June 30th in the health care program that aids the poor and disabled.
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