Due to the rise in inflation and drug prices , the clinic now purchases some medications for the patients it serves , while others are received through drug programs .
“ Economically , the pandemic added insult to injury for many of our 42,000 plus patients who were already struggling financially ,” says Settle . “ The sudden closure of many businesses due to lack of foot traffic tied to lockdowns put many out of work . We have seen large increases in patients needing our services due to a sudden drop in income .”
West Virginia Health Right does not qualify for heightened reimbursement for Medicaid patients like at Federally Qualified Health Centers ( FQHC ), despite its patients being low-income , uninsured or having Medicaid or Medicare . The reimbursement the clinic receives for all patients and facilities is less than 7 % of its total annual budget .
“ This necessitates us to aggressively seek countless private and state or federal grants to meet our budget every year ,” Settle says .
“ Settle urges that these issues need to be addressed on the federal level , first to control drug pricing and second to give free and charitable clinics the access to reduced , 340B drug pricing the FQHCs and critical access hospitals have .”
Despite all the discouraging news , there are resilient and dedicated health care professionals and researchers who are working every day to improve health care and the well-being of people in the Mountain State .
Kaufman reminds us that hospitals in West Virginia offer
state-of-the-art , quality care with an array of services . While there are certain services for which patients must travel outside of the state to receive care , those are unique and rare conditions .
Recently , the West Virginia Economic Outlook report noted the new WVU Medicine Children ’ s Hospital has not only created a centralized state-of-the-art facility for children with a wider range of conditions , but those expanded services will allow those children to be treated in the state compared to traveling out of state to larger cities like Pittsburgh or Cleveland . The new facility will also support future pediatric medical research to help attract researchers and clinicians , ultimately creating a building block for other economic opportunities in biomedical research and development .
Beyond these economic opportunities , though , Kaufman notes that there is tremendous individual opportunity in health care as hospitals are recruiting for every clinical and non-clinical position imaginable .
“ While everyone talks about the need for nurses , we need EMTs , laboratory and imaging techs , IT experts , facilities managers and budget analysts ,” Kaufman says . “ While some of these jobs require advanced education , others require high school education with some training , so , there are great opportunities to start and grow a career . These are not only great paying jobs with benefits but meaningful professions that allow people to give back to their communities .”
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