Gov. Patrick Morrisey appears determined to turn around West Virginia’s hideous statistics when it comes to our health. Whether it be food dyes, the Mountaineer Mile or improvements in the ways SNAP recipients can access fresh produce, there have been plenty of announcements to indicate a desire to improve our health and health outcomes. But according to a report by the Commonwealth Fund, the Mountain State is still ranked a pitiful 47th in the country for overall health system performance.

That assessment comes before the effects of any possible changes to Medicaid that might make their way out of work on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in the U.S. Senate. For those at the Commonwealth Fund, there is a worry that proposed changes to Medicaid might make West Virginia’s health outcomes even grimmer.

“This scorecard makes one thing very clear: Where you live continues to define your health and your ability to get and afford the health care you need,” said Dr. Joseph R. Betancourt, president of the Commonwealth Fund. “While some states have taken bold steps to improve coverage and invest in primary care and public health, others are falling behind.”

In a state such as ours, Collins believes changes to Medicaid and marketplace coverage would mean those “facing the biggest challenges will fall even further behind.”

State Department of Human Services data shows that as of January, 29% of West Virginia’s population is enrolled in Medicaid.

Across the state, health care groups, food banks and other advocacy organizations have begged U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Jim Justice, both R-W.Va., to vote against the bill, to prevent what they see as an impending disaster.

“You have to look at the benefit programs to make sure that those that are due benefits, those that need the benefits, get the benefits,” Capito said June 13. “But what’s happened here is that there are people on those benefits, both programs, that don’t deserve to be there or don’t qualify … We need to flush that out, get rid of the waste, the fraud, the abuse of the system so that it is there for the folks who need it.”

“Deserve” is a tricky word in politics, isn’t it?

But semantics aside, Capito and Justice must remember two things. They represent — and are accountable to — West Virginians. And if their determination really is to root out fraud, waste and abuse, they must make absolutely certain that job gets done without hurting the Mountain State residents Medicaid is meant to support.

Failure to do so will result in quite literally sickening consequences for West Virginia.