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Read. Follow. Verify.West Virginia creates Affordable Medicaid Buy-In Program for uninsured residents
Last action · January 26, 2026: To House Health and Human ResourcesSponsors: Mike Pushkin and 7 others
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What This Bill Proposed
By January 1, 2027, the Department of Human Services must establish the Affordable Medicaid Buy-In Plan to offer health coverage for West Virginia residents who are ineligible for Medicaid and Medicare. The plan features a sliding scale for premiums based on household income, covers essential health benefits, and prohibits employers from dropping employees who might qualify.
Residents lacking access to traditional Medicaid or Medicare gain a state-administered health insurance option with income-based financial assistance, while employers are legally barred from canceling or denying existing workplace coverage based on potential plan eligibility.
- State-level public option and Medicaid buy-in proposals are legislative strategies pursued by various states to expand health coverage access using existing managed care infrastructure. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
West Virginia residents ineligible for Medicaid and Medicare
Residents gain access to a new state-administered health insurance plan with income-based premium assistance.
Employers offering health coverage
Employers are prohibited from dropping or denying health coverage to employees based on potential eligibility for the buy-in plan.
Health care providers
Providers are reimbursed for services delivered under the plan based on the Medicaid fee schedule.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible to purchase the Affordable Medicaid Buy-In Plan?
What health benefits are included in the plan?
Are there financial discounts for lower-income enrollees?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
4 actions- Jan 26, 2026HouseCommitteeTo House Health and Human Resources
- Jan 26, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced in House
- Jan 26, 2026HouseCommitteeTo Health and Human Resources then Finance
- Jan 26, 2026HouseIntroducedFiled for introduction
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Creation of State Public Health Buy-In Option
The legislation introduces a state-administered buy-in model leveraging the Medicaid infrastructure to broaden health insurance access for residents ineligible for traditional federal programs.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.wvlegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 85)
- Controversy70Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz50Current news / social attention level
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