By Leann Ray | Editor-in-chief
“You’ve got grandparents raising grandkids, you’ve got uncles and aunts raising nieces and nephews. Those particular types of cases are more complicated and can generate more errors even if people are perfectly eligible to be on the program. Just denying them outright does not count to your error rate, right? So, there’s a real concern that that’s happening, not just here, but all over the country, in the rush to get the error rate down.” — Seth DiStefano, senior policy outreach director at the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy,
Lilly Hall, 59, of Delbarton, West Virginia, volunteers at Delbarton Town Hall on July 1, 2026, to meet the newly expanded requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps. (Photo by Lori Kersey/West Virginia Watch)
By Lori Kersey
DELBARTON, W.Va. — On 10 days each month, Lilly Hall reports to Delbarton Town Hall for an 8-hour work day, doing whatever town officials ask. On a given day, she organizes files, takes out the trash or keeps the town’s restrooms stocked with toilet paper and paper towels.
Hall, 59, doesn’t get paid money for her work. She’s doing it to keep getting monthly benefits assistance from the federal food assistance program SNAP, often referred to as food stamps.
NATIONAL
Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, speaks at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., in December. CMS last month released guidance on how states should implement new Medicaid work requirements. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
By Shalina Chatlani
State Medicaid agencies are concerned that many sick and disabled enrollees will lose their coverage because the Trump administration is narrowing the definition of who is “medically frail” enough to get an exemption from new work requirements.
By Amelia Twyman
WASHINGTON — The prime time for ticks is here in the United States, and after an especially active start to the season, experts are urging the public to stay alert and take preventive measures.
COMMENTARY
A new report founds that only 18% of West Virginia's 8th graders are proficient in math, while 31% of 4th graders are proficient. (Photo by kali9/Getty Images)
By Jack Bernard
Using National Center for Education Statistics, a new report has been issued comparing K-12 educational achievement by state. The results for West Virginia are devastating.
ICYMI
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