Health Care in West Virginia

Tom Breen, who writes about health care among other topics at The Associated Press, reports on several factors that could lead to West Virginia whittling down the ranks of its uninsured in 2009.

With a governor pledging to find coverage for all working residents and a legislative effort to devise a 'road map' for a restructured health care system kicking off in January, the battered national economy and an uncertain future have not intimidated planners," Breen reports.

About 248,000 of West Virginia's 1.8 million people are uninsured, "although that number fluctuates," the article said. Breen spoke to Perry Bryant, executive director of West Virginians For Affordable Health Care, who "believes that number can be reduced with a relatively modest expenditure of state dollars, which will be a key selling point for lawmakers watching other state budgets struggle with deficits."