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CIS program making a difference for students

For many years now, West Virginia’s public schools have served as much more than a place where students spend about six hours a day learning reading, writing and arithmetic. They have become a place where teachers and administrators are taking in loco parentis to new levels. They have become health clinics, resource centers, food pantries and clothes closets. “Everyone in this room, you all have washed clothes at school, gotten a child out of class who doesn’t feel well,” said West Virginia first lady Cathy Justice during a celebration of the Communities in Schools program ...

Medicare allegations must be looked into

At the time when Congress launched Medicare Advantage several decades ago, the theory was insurers would make Medicare more efficient, have an incentive to keep patients healthier and save money for the government in the process. Those at the forefront of promoting the concept probably never anticipated that one day a national newspaper would have on its front page the headline “Medicare paid $50 billion to insurers for untreated ills.” Yet that was the headline in the July 9 edition of the Wall Street Journal that no doubt evoked gasps from folks that have placed their trust ...

Looking to our past, to guide our future

There is no doubt West Virginia has contributed much about which we can be proud to building and powering our country and the world. A new exhibit planned for the West Virginia State Capitol Complex will celebrate that history in an outdoor complex called “West Virginia: Nature Designs a State that Fuels a Nation.” According to the Governor’s Office the exhibit is part of the America 250 WV “legacy project.” And while the name might lead visitors to believe they are about to learn about coal, oil and natural gas, the project will highlight 11 industries. Iron and steel, clay, ...

Doing better for ourselves

It’s easy to make a cost/benefit analysis on some expenditures and make a decision about whether it is worth spending the money. But when it comes to our health, most of us do not have that luxury. While the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimates the average American spends $13,500 per year on personal health care, research by the Kaiser Family Foundation suggests the U.S. is falling behind several other wealthy countries when it comes to the quality of that care. And, as always, the conundrum is worse for those living in some states than in others. While many West ...

New tool to protect our children

West Virginia’s Department of Human Services appears to be looking not just for more people to support its mission, but also for better tools. DoHS Bureau of Social Services Commissioner Jeff Pack told WV MetroNews the state has contracted with Evident Change to develop a Structured Decision Making tool to support those screening alleged abuse and neglect cases. Now the Child Protective Services supervisor in charge of reviewing the facts tries to decide whether the allegations are true and/or meet the definition of abuse or neglect. “Honestly, oftentimes that’s a little ...

Permitting process needs a jump-start

Most all of us can agree that bureaucracy exists to serve itself, rather than the taxpaying public. Bureaucrats can wield licenses, permits, deadlines and other forms of red tape like precision weapons. Their zeal in doing so has bogged down our nation’s economic diversification and growth potential for far too long. But a plan presented by U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., and John Barrasso, R-Wyo., could speed things back up, at least for one sector. The Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 is meant to eliminate some of the time and hoops that stall energy projects of all ...