West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin has set some ambitious goals for his second term, including extending health insurance to uninsured workers across the state.

Today, the state estimates that 254,000 West Virginians -- about 14 percent of the population -- have no health insurance.

Many workers already have some form of health insurance through their employers -- about 60 percent in West Virginia, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, which studies health insurance issues. Other government programs provide coverage for the elderly and the poor in the form of Medicare and Medicaid.

And in West Virginia, the young also receive assistance through the Children's Health Insurance Program.

But those with no health-care safety net are often the adults in low-to-moderate income working family category. These are workers and family members who do not receive benefits from their employer, make too much to qualify for Medicaid and make too little to afford health insurance on their own.

Although the governor has not discussed specifics, the plan might expand the state's Public Employees Insurance Agency to cover small businesses, which would reach many of the uninsured. Manchin also may recommend extending Medicaid benefits for workers who lose eligibility when they start to make more money. There is a five-year grace period now, and that might increase to 10 years.

"I'm committed to getting every working person health care," Manchin told The Associated Press last week. "They'll say it's too costly. Well, hell, it's costly now."

PEIA already covers about 197,000 state workers, retirees and their families, while about 281,000 residents rely on Medicaid, the Associated Press reported last week. Those two programs cost the state $1.2 billion last year.

But we are paying for the lack of health insurance in other ways as well.

For many families, the lack of health insurance means little if any preventative or routine health care, adding to the overall poor health of the state. That not only hurts worker productivity, but when real sickness or injuries occur, the cases end up in our emergency rooms and on hospital indigent-care tabs.

Manchin is not alone in trying to address the health insurance problem. Universal coverage plans already have been enacted in Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts, and plans have been proposed in 14 other states, according to the Kaiser Foundation study. The plans use a variety of techniques to either assist small businesses in providing health insurance or provide subsidies to uncovered workers.

So, West Virginia leaders will have a number of other programs to study before making any decisions.

With an uncertain economy on the horizon, Manchin may not have the resources to tackle this problem. But if he comes up with a workable plan, we think the benefits will outweigh the costs.

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