HB 5277 is a funding bill that allocates $1 million to Welch Community Hospital, $3.4 million to William R. Sharpe Jr. Hospital, and $4.3 million to Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Hospital from West Virginia's unappropriated surplus balance. These funds are designated specifically for capital improvements, repairs, and equipment at each hospital during fiscal year 2026. The bill supplements existing appropriations by adding these new funding lines to the hospitals' respective budgets. It directly affects the three named hospitals by providing additional resources for facility maintenance and infrastructure. The bill does not create new policies or programs but reallocates existing surplus funds for capital purposes.
This bill increases funding for West Virginia's Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) by adding $422,562 for administrative costs and $449,429 for services under fund 0403. It supplements existing appropriations using an unappropriated balance from the State Fund, General Revenue, to support CHIP operations during fiscal year 2026. The funding directly affects CHIP beneficiaries and program administrators by providing additional resources for program management and services. This is a procedural budget adjustment, not a policy change, and it applies to the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026.
SB 844 is a supplemental funding bill that allocates additional federal funds to the West Virginia Department of Human Services for medical services. It increases existing appropriations for "Medical Services" (by $1.373 billion) and "Medical Services Administrative Costs" (by $37 million) under Fund 8722 for fiscal year 2026. This funding uses unspent federal moneys designated for the state's medical programs, directly supporting the department's operations for healthcare services. The bill does not create new programs but adjusts how existing federal funds are applied to current medical service expenditures.
SB 819 redirects $4,906,630 from an unappropriated surplus balance in West Virginia's General Revenue Fund to William R. Sharpe Jr. Hospital (fund 0413) for fiscal year 2026. The bill supplements the hospital's existing appropriation by adding a new line item for "Current Expenses - Surplus" to cover operational costs. This procedural budget adjustment directly affects the hospital's funding for the 2026 fiscal year without changing health care policies or creating new obligations. The funds were identified in the Governor's Executive Budget Document as available surplus.
SB 897 establishes licensing and certification requirements for alcohol and drug counselors in West Virginia. It defines key terms like "substance use disorder" and "practice of alcohol and drug counseling," which includes evaluating addiction issues, developing treatment plans, and providing trauma-informed care. The bill sets eligibility criteria, application fees, renewal fees, and grandfathering provisions for existing counselors based on education or experience. It also creates disciplinary actions for violations and specifies exceptions for healthcare providers, state employees, and self-help groups. This bill directly affects counselors seeking to provide substance use disorder treatment services in the state.
This bill allows doctors in West Virginia to legally prescribe, distribute, and market specific forms of psilocybin once the FDA approves it and the DEA reschedules it. It amends state pharmacy laws to remove barriers for FDA-approved crystalline polymorph psilocybin products, aligning state regulations with federal decisions. The law applies only to pharmaceutical compositions of psilocybin that meet federal approval standards, not to raw or unapproved forms of the substance. Healthcare providers and pharmacies would be able to handle these medications under existing prescription drug frameworks once federal requirements are met.
This bill establishes a value-based payment system for West Virginia's Medicaid addiction care services, shifting from fee-for-service to rewarding providers based on patient recovery outcomes. It directly affects Medicaid providers treating substance use disorders by requiring them to use standardized billing codes starting in 2027 and report on five specific outcome metrics: housing stability, sobriety, avoidance of criminal justice involvement, self-sufficiency (employment/education), and provider transition plans. The bill mandates data collection and analysis by the Bureau for Medical Services to develop these metrics, with value-based payments requiring implementation by 2028. The goal is to create a coordinated care system focused on long-term recovery success rather than fragmented service volume.
SB 650 amends West Virginia law to define a psychiatric hospital treating exclusively civil and forensic patients (with over 95% of its inpatient census being court-ordered forensic or civil involuntary commitments from state custody) as a "state-designated facility" for tax purposes. This change excludes such hospitals from the category of "eligible acute care hospitals" subject to a 0.75% tax on gross receipts, exempting them from this tax. The bill directly affects psychiatric hospitals in West Virginia meeting this specific patient mix requirement by altering their tax classification under the Medicaid funding structure.
West Virginia Senate Bill 645 prohibits non-network ambulance services from charging patients extra fees beyond standard insurance cost-sharing. It requires insurers to pay non-participating ambulance providers directly at 400% of the Medicare rate (or the provider’s billed amount, whichever is lower) within 30 days of a clean claim. Patients cannot be billed for amounts beyond their standard copayments, coinsurance, or deductibles, and insurers must provide written denial notices with specific reasons. This applies to ground ambulance services covered under health insurance policies issued on or after January 1, 2027.
This bill (SB 570) allocates $199,476,099 in unspent federal funds to the West Virginia Department of Health's "Rural Health Transformation Program" for fiscal year 2026. It adds a new funding line (Fund 8802, Org 0506) under the Department's Central Office to support this specific program. The funds are designated for rural health initiatives and directly affect the Department of Health's ability to implement these programs. This is a procedural funding measure, not a policy change, using existing federal funds without new tax implications.
