Planned PEIA rate increases elicit concern from lawmakers and policyholders
While many say a change is in order, no one can seem to agree on how to appropriately address financial concerns associated with the program.
'We keep doing things that they tell us is going to fix the problem and then it ends up not fixing the problem,' Delegate Eric Brooks told 59News. 'We'll see what the options are when we get back down there. I think the governor is really pushing for a Special Session to deal with this before January when we have our next legislative session.'
A bill introduced during the most recent session of the West Virginia Legislature – House Bill 2623 – would abolish PEIA altogether, though some detractors have characterized the legislation as reckless. The bill was under consideration by the House Committee on Health and Human Resources at the time the most recent legislative session was brought to a close.
Governor Patrick Morrisey told 59News he has been working with the legislature to address issues with PEIA, citing an overall need for fiscal responsibility on the state level.
'We have a lot of tough challenges ahead. I've mentioned that we have PEIA that'll be coming up in the upcoming months,' said Morrisey. 'We've been diligently working on that and are starting to have conversations with the legislature. We want to get that right because we have to make sure that we help West Virginia reach her potential.'
Several delegates have said they expect to be called in for a session to address PEIA specifically, and the governor says he hopes to address the issue in the coming months, though an official call for a Special Session of the legislature has yet to be made at this time.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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CBS News
20 minutes ago
- CBS News
West Virginia scrambles to strip artificial dyes from school meals before classes start
When school starts in West Virginia next month, 240,000 students in districts large and small will notice something missing from their cafeteria trays. Gone will be red Jell-O fruit cups, yogurt topped with brightly hued sprinkles and older versions of Cool Ranch Doritos — all foods made with synthetic dyes. In their place will be foods that contain colors made only from natural sources — such as vegetables, spices and seeds — after West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed a sweeping new law in March banning seven artificial dyes from school meals. Other states have enacted similar laws that would strip artificial dyes from school meals, but West Virginia's action is the first to take effect, starting Aug. 1. It triggered a four-month sprint that left state and local nutrition directors reeling. "I think the initial reaction was like, 'Wow, what are we going to do?'" said Tony Crago, director of child nutrition for the West Virginia Department of Education. "Where do we start?" Across the state, managers of school food programs scoured district grocery lists for dozens of products that contained any trace of petroleum-based synthetic dyes, including Red 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2 and Green 3. "When it went into law, it was shocking," said Diane Miller, who leads child nutrition and food services for Kanawha County Schools in the state's central region. "We began to realize that these dyes were in much more than just your cereals." West Virginia's ban on synthetic dyes was cheered by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has successfully pressured food makers to agree to remove artificial colors from their products. The law focuses first on dyes in school foods, followed by a second action that will ban the colors plus two preservatives from all foods sold in the state starting in 2028. The move is aimed at halting potential health effects from the dyes, which have been linked to neurobehavioral problems, such as hyperactivity and attention problems, in some children. It's part of a larger focus on limiting artificial ingredients in food, Morrisey said in March. "By eliminating harmful chemicals from our food, we're taking steps toward improving the health of our residents and protecting our children from significant long-term health and learning challenges," he said. Health advocates have long called for the removal of the dyes, citing mixed evidence of potential harm. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said the color additives are safe when "used properly," in the amounts and products approved by the agency. Most children have no problems when consuming the dyes, the agency adds, "but some evidence suggests that certain children may be sensitive to them." More recently, however, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary has joined Kennedy in the push to get artificial dyes out of food, despite limited proof of health effects. "When you get rid of petroleum-based dyes, kids aren't gonna all suddenly be healthy," Makary said on a recent podcast. "We're not going to address the fact that 30% of our nation's kids have prediabetes by simply removing petroleum-based food dyes. But these are steps in the right direction." Nutrition experts agree that removing artificial colors from foods doesn't address the main drivers of America's chronic health problems. Those stem largely from ingredients such as added sugars, sodium and saturated fat. But dyes are "hallmarks of ultraprocessed food," said Jerold Mande, a Harvard University nutrition expert and former federal food policy adviser. Targeting them could be a way of letting companies know "that the way they're making food is unacceptable," he said. Some suppliers had already removed artificial dyes from some school foods, swapping them for products colored with beet juice or turmeric, said Hollie Best, food service director for Wood County Schools in Parkersburg, which has 11,000 children in 27 schools. Overall, Best said she removed just five foods from her menus. General Mills said 98% of its products for schools were already made without the banned colors. The company "will be compliant" with West Virginia's law immediately and plans to remove the dyes from school foods nationwide by next summer, said Mollie Wulff, a company spokesperson. In Miller's district, with 23,000 students in 67 schools, the new law affects about 10% of the foods served, she estimated. She expected some foods to contain artificial colors, like strawberry milk and Pop-Tarts. Others were surprising, such as pickles, salad dressing and certain snack chips. "People were like, 'Oh my gosh, no more Doritos?'" Miller said. The popular Cool Ranch flavor previously contained dyes Red 40, Blue 1 and Yellow 5. PepsiCo, which runs the Frito-Lay division that makes the chips, has pledged to remove the synthetic colors starting with this school year, according to spokesperson Genevieve Ascencio. The challenge is finding substitutes that will still appeal to children, Miller said. "Because the last thing we need them to do is to choose not to participate in our school lunch program," she said, adding that schools provide many students their healthiest meals of the day. Parents of children with sensitivities or allergies to artificial dyes had already raised concerns, according to school food directors. But for others, the presence of synthetic colors in school meals hasn't been an issue. Chris Derico, nutrition director of Barbour County Schools, with 2,000 students, said few parents seemed worried about dyes. "They'd be in the minority, I believe," he said. "In rural West Virginia, I don't think it's really on radar screens." In Best's district, dyes were already out of the food dished up during the summer session in July. That didn't make much difference to Lilith Wilson, 9, who said her meal of a meatball sub sandwich, sweet potato fries and ice cream was "really good." Asked whether she likes school lunches in general, the incoming fourth-grader echoed the sentiments of picky kids everywhere: "Sometimes I don't, sometimes I do. It just depends on what it is." ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
New York Post
2 days ago
- New York Post
West Virginia scrambles to strip artificial dyes from school meals before students return
When school starts in West Virginia next month, 240,000 students in districts large and small will notice something missing from their cafeteria trays. Gone will be red Jell-O fruit cups, yogurt topped with brightly hued sprinkles, and Cool Ranch Doritos — all foods made with synthetic dyes. In their place will be foods that contain colors made only from natural sources — such as vegetables, spices, and seeds — after West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed a sweeping new law in March banning seven artificial dyes from school meals. 5 When school starts in West Virginia next month, 240,000 students in districts large and small will notice something missing from their cafeteria trays. AP Other states have enacted similar laws that would strip artificial dyes from school meals, but West Virginia's action is the first to take effect, starting Aug. 1. It triggered a four-month sprint that left state and local nutrition directors reeling. 'I think the initial reaction was like, 'Wow, what are we going to do?'' said Tony Crago, director of child nutrition for the West Virginia Department of Education. 'Where do we start?' Across the state, managers of school food programs scoured district grocery lists for dozens of products that contained any trace of petroleum-based synthetic dyes, including Red 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2, and Green 3. 'When it went into law, it was shocking,' said Diane Miller, who leads child nutrition and food services for Kanawha County Schools in the state's central region. 'We began to realize that these dyes were in much more than just your cereals.' West Virginia's ban on synthetic dyes was cheered by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has successfully pressured food makers to agree to remove artificial colors from their products. 5 West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed a sweeping new law in March banning seven artificial dyes from school meals. AP The law focuses first on dyes in school foods, followed by a second action that will ban the colors plus two preservatives from all foods sold in the state starting in 2028. The move is aimed at halting potential health effects from the dyes, which have been linked to neurobehavioral problems, such as hyperactivity and attention problems, in some children. It's part of a larger focus on limiting artificial ingredients in food, Morrisey said in March. 5 Instead of jello and chips, foods in their place will contain colors made only from natural sources — such as vegetables, spices, and seeds Ezume Images – 'By eliminating harmful chemicals from our food, we're taking steps toward improving the health of our residents and protecting our children from significant long-term health and learning challenges,' he said. Health advocates have long called for the removal of the dyes, citing mixed evidence of potential harm. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said the color additives are safe when 'used properly,' in the amounts and products approved by the agency. Most children have no problems when consuming the dyes, the agency adds, 'but some evidence suggests that certain children may be sensitive to them.' More recently, however, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary has joined Kennedy in the push to get artificial dyes out of food, despite limited proof of health effects. 'When you get rid of petroleum-based dyes, kids aren't gonna all suddenly be healthy,' Makary said on a recent podcast. 'We're not going to address the fact that 30% of our nation's kids have prediabetes by simply removing petroleum-based food dyes. But these are steps in the right direction.' Nutrition experts agree that removing artificial colors from foods doesn't address the main drivers of America's chronic health problems. Those stem largely from ingredients such as added sugars, sodium, and saturated fat. But dyes are 'hallmarks of ultraprocessed food,' said Jerold Mande, a Harvard University nutrition expert and former federal food policy adviser. Targeting them could be a way of letting companies know 'that the way they're making food is unacceptable,' he said. Some suppliers had already removed artificial dyes from some school foods, swapping them for products colored with beet juice or turmeric, said Hollie Best, food service director for Wood County Schools in Parkersburg, which has 11,000 children in 27 schools. Overall, Best said she removed just five foods from her menus. General Mills said 98% of its products for schools were already made without the banned colors. The company 'will be compliant' with West Virginia's law immediately and plans to remove the dyes from school foods nationwide by next summer, said Mollie Wulff, a company spokesperson. In Miller's district, with 23,000 students in 67 schools, the new law affects about 10% of the foods served, she estimated. She expected some foods to contain artificial colors, like strawberry milk and Pop-Tarts. Others were surprising, such as pickles, salad dressing and certain snack chips. 'People were like, 'Oh my gosh, no more Doritos?'' Miller said. The popular Cool Ranch flavor contains dyes Red 40, Blue 1 and Yellow 5. The challenge is finding substitutes that will still appeal to children, Miller said. 'Because the last thing we need them to do is to choose not to participate in our school lunch program,' she said, adding that schools provide many students their healthiest meals of the day. Parents of children with sensitivities or allergies to artificial dyes had already raised concerns, according to school food directors. But for others, the presence of synthetic colors in school meals hasn't been an issue. 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Dominion Post
3 days ago
- Dominion Post
'It's a no-brainer': Mon Commission opposes passthrough power lines
MORGANTOWN — 'It solves a problem, but somebody else's problem … And to be forced to accept this project without any benefit to our citizens while extremely impacting our citizens isn't something that this commission can stand for.' And with that, the Monongalia County Commission voted Wednesday to take a public position against the 105-mile MidAtlantic Resiliency Link power transmission project looking at parts of West Virginia as a path for 500-kilovolt power lines running from Greene County, Pa. to Frederick County, Va. Five counties – Monongalia, Preston, Hampshire, Jefferson and Mineral – have been identified by NextEra Energy Transmission MidAtlantic as part of the potential route With Wednesday's resolution, all five county commissions have now said, 'No, thank you.' Commissioner Sean Sikora, who offered the remarks that opened this report, explained further. 'When we had the work session with NextEra, everything that they're saying in regards to electricity needs is true. We just don't see a benefit to them running this line across our state – across our beautiful county – and not providing us any benefit.' In regard to this project, one of the major sticking points raised by both residents and elected officials is that West Virginia – a next exporter of energy as the country's fifth-highest producer – is little more than countryside to be cleared in service to power-hungry data centers in northern Virginia. Even so, it's believed the cost of the infrastructure will ultimately be paid through increased rates for all customers across the 13-state power grid operated by PJM Interconnection. 'To me, it's pretty simple. They want to shove these things down our throats and say, 'Oh, by the way, you also get to pay for it, and by the way, you don't get any benefit from it,'' Commission President Jeff Arnett said. 'It's a no-brainer.' Arnett went on to say there was consensus across the political spectrum in terms of the numerous individuals who kept pressure on the commission to get involved. One of those individuals was Delegate David McCormick, R-82nd District. 'This is a bipartisan issue. It's about property values and increased rates for ratepayers. I don't see West Virginia and West Virginians benefiting from this; it being just a vehicle to get more power to Virginia to help their economic development efforts with data centers. I'd rather see them come here, frankly,' McCormick said. 'Virginia doesn't have enough power? Well, maybe they shouldn't have closed all the power plants and they wouldn't have this problem.' In addition to the resolution opposing MARL within Monongalia County, the commission also pledged to honor a recent request from the Hampshire County Commission to coordinate the efforts of the various counties leading up to and including participation in the West Virginia Public Service Commission's review of the final project route presented by NextEra.
