Editor,
The cuts to Medicaid passed by the House of Representatives and now in the Senate for consideration are going to have very negative consequences for West Virginia.
Local hospitals and medical services will become out of reach for many low income families who have depended on the assistance of Medicaid.
Local hospital budgets will be impacted.
I do not see millionaire Shelly Capito or millionaire Jim Justice stepping up to protect the very West Virginians who most likely put them in office.
I challenge them to vote against these Medicaid cuts and to have the courage once to actually do something of benefit to those much less fortunate than they are.
Martin Saffer
Hillsboro
Dear Editor,
As I watch the county’s glacial and inadequate response to the lack of volunteers to man paramedic coverage slowly evolve, I find myself increasingly frustrated.
The lack of full-time coverage in the southern part of the county is a disaster waiting to happen. Timely responses to medical emergencies are crucial to positive outcomes. With the loss of a paramedic response from Hillsboro, this means that those of us who live in this area will be lucky if response times are less than an hour and much longer during periods of inclement weather.
The fact that the Marlinton-based ambulance will respond to the South creates the same problem for those in the area of the town when it is absent on a southern call.
Medical emergencies cannot be scheduled; they happen when they do with multiple incidents possible at the same time. This means individuals will needlessly die due to lack of timely responses.
We need a 24-7 fully staffed paramedic team operating out of the Hillsboro location. The fact that this capability was present in this location for many years was no accident but a response to an obvious need.
Funding this capability needs to be a priority and our elected officials need to get off their butts and make this happen in a timely manner.
Joseph Kaffl
Hillsboro
