By PHIL KABLER
Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — With a Dec. 11 deadline looming, a subcommittee of the governor’s PEIA task force adopted some key recommendations Tuesday, including a proposal to eliminate penalties for seeking medical care in out-of-state border counties.
However, the task force — created at the height of the statewide teacher walkout to find a long-term “fix” to ongoing problems with the state-run health insurance plan — is likely to leave major issues unresolved when it makes its final recommendations to the Legislature on Tuesday. That includes failing to meet a mandate to find a dedicated revenue source for PEIA to offset ever-increasing medical and pharmaceutical costs.
In a news conference later Tuesday, Gov. Jim Justice conceded that the task force will not come up with a dedicated revenue source, but said he is committed to fully funding PEIA.
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