CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia suffers from some of the worst health problems in the country, but lawmakers believe the state's health care system can be vastly improved without significantly raising costs.
The Legislature's two health committee chairmen, including Delegate Don Perdue, D-Wayne, announced plans Monday for a process aimed at creating a "road map" within a year that they hope will provide basic coverage to all West Virginians.
But that goal -- which would mean bringing roughly 245,000 uninsured West Virginians into some coverage plan -- won't result in the creation of a new agency or major program, or require the expenditure of huge sums, lawmakers promise.
"We need to sort of put the payment side aside, and say, 'What's the best delivery system?"' said Kenneth Thorpe, an Emory University professor of health policy who has been hired to oversee the proposal's planning stages.
Thorpe and the lawmakers say basic preventive care can be provided under the existing system, if administrative and other costs can be reduced. To design the plan, they're creating four working groups with members ranging from doctors to labor union officials.
The groups will tackle the costs associated with treating chronic health problems like diabetes or heart disease, wellness and prevention, cost cutting and technology.
The plan is being supported by a coalition of groups ranging from the AFL-CIO to the Chamber of Commerce and the pharmaceutical industry, representatives of which were at Monday's announcement in the state Capitol.
Thorpe pointed to a similar approach being taken in Vermont, although West Virginia faces greater challenges than its New England counterpart. The state has the third-highest obesity rate, the second-highest rate of diabetes and the second-highest rate of hypertension in the country.
"We are the canary in the coal mine for health care in the United States," said Perdue, chairman of the House health committee. "We have an overweight population, we have an aging population and we have a population that makes terrible lifestyle choices with regard to things like smoking."
Thorpe said the proposal may be ready within a year. Perdue and his Senate counterpart, Sen. Roman Prezioso, D-Marion, want the state to have a plan relatively quickly, as they say waiting for solutions from Washington is a mistake.
"We're hearing a lot of rhetoric from the presidential candidates right now, but that's all I think it is, just rhetoric," Prezioso said. "We've been hearing the same things for years."
State and federal plans like Medicaid and Medicare already provide health insurance coverage for roughly half of West Virginia's 1.8 million residents, with roughly 700,000 covered by private plans and the rest without insurance.
Whatever the proposal drawn up by the working groups, Prezioso said it won't create a new state bureaucracy or huge line items in the state budget.
"Once we get this road map, there's not going to be any question about where we're going, because everyone is starting from the same point," he said.
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