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Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Mountain Line reduces services for the summer
Jul. 1—MORGANTOWN — Mountain Line Transit Authority will reduce services on four current bus routes starting today due to cuts requested by West Run and West Virginia University. According to Mountain Line CEO Maria Smith, the changes affect Route 30 West Run, Route 38 Blue & Gold, Route 44 Valley View and Route 6 Gold Line. For the Route 30 West Run, summer service will be discontinued beginning today. Service will resume Aug. 20 and run from 7:10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday with no evening runs. Late-night service on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights will remain unchanged. Route 38 Blue & Gold will run on a reduced schedule over the summer, operating from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday with no weekend service. Regular service, including university breaks, will resume Aug. 20. "We looked at the ridership trends, and summer service just wasn't sustainable with the requested budget cuts, " Smith said during the last Mountain Line board meeting. "Admissions are down, and that affects demand." Route 44 Valley View will not operate at all during the summer. It will resume Aug. 20, running during WVU's fall and spring sessions and university breaks. For the Route 6 Gold Line, subsidized by WVU, the Sunday service will be eliminated. The Gold Line will continue to run Monday through Saturday as usual. Smith said the changes follow budget adjustments requested by West Run and WVU due to financial constraints and declining ridership in some areas. "These service eliminations are a result of requested cuts in service by WVU and West Run, " Smith said in a statement. Riders are encouraged to plan ahead and look for alternative routes to meet their transportation needs. Mountain Line will continue to gather public feedback on the changes through an online survey and community meetings. Full route maps, updated schedules and trip-planning help are available at
CBS News
11 minutes ago
- CBS News
Colorado says Republican budget bill will cut billions in federal funding for Medicaid in the state
State says Republican budget bill will cut billions in federal funding for Medicaid in Colorado State says Republican budget bill will cut billions in federal funding for Medicaid in Colorado State says Republican budget bill will cut billions in federal funding for Medicaid in Colorado Colorado is expected to lose up to $2.5 billion dollars annually in federal Medicaid funding under the Republican Party's massive tax and spending cuts bill. The measure passed the U.S. Senate Tuesday after Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote. It would extend Republican 2017 tax cuts permanently, increase funding for defense and immigration enforcement and cut funding for Medicaid, food stamps and green energy programs. The Congressional Budget Office estimates it would increase the deficit by about $3 trillion over ten years. The bill now goes back to the U.S. House of Representatives for approval. Among the differences between the Senate and House versions are changes to Medicaid, which provides health coverage for one in four Coloradans. The Congressional Budget Office says the Senate bill will reduce spending on Medicaid by nearly $1 trillion over the next decade, and maybe nowhere will those cuts be felt more than in rural Colorado, where half of all hospitals are already operating in the red. Lincoln Health in Hugo is among them. It is the only hospital on the I-70 corridor for 160 miles. The survival of those who live in the area depends on the survival of the hospital, which also operates family practice clinics, a nursing home and assisted living center. Lincoln Health CEO Kevin Stansbury CBS CEO Kevin Stansbury says those services are at risk under the bill. "We will have to close down some services," Stansbury told CBS Colorado. "And the challenge will be what services are not essential." Stansbury says 80% of the patients at Lincoln Health are on Medicaid or Medicare. The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) -- which administers Medicaid -- says the bill would mean a loss of between $900 million and $2.5 billion a year in federal funding for Medicaid. It says the state would lose another $550 million a year due to a provision that caps a fee many states assess on hospitals at 3.5%. The bill also creates new verification requirements that HCPF says could cost the state $57 million to administer. It says the red tape will also result in thousands of Coloradans losing coverage. The bill requires recipients to provide proof they're going to school, volunteering, or working every month, and provide proof of their income and citizenship every six months. Stansbury says some recipients in Lincoln County don't have internet and will need to travel 80 miles to Fort Morgan to re-certify in person. He says many will drop off the rolls and end up uninsured. "Our patients have to travel to Fort Morgan for in-person revalidation of their Medicaid," Stansbury explained. "You're cutting access to care, which ironically could drive up the cost of care and put more financial stress on hospitals." Stansbury says Lincoln Health expects to lose about 25% of its Medicaid reimbursement under the bill. While it creates a new $50 billion rural hospital fund, he says it's unclear who would qualify for the money and how it would be distributed. "Where you live shouldn't determine if you live," Stansbury said. He notes many of the people who live in Lincoln County are conservatives. "I'm not sure that's what people out here voted for," Stansbury said. "I don't think they voted to have their hospital decimated." Lincoln Health may have to scale back services, but Stansbury says the hospital will survive. "This is a mission for us, and we're going to stick here. We're going to provide care to our patients," Stansbury said. "All we're asking is that we get paid equitably for it." The Senate dropped a provision in the House bill that would have cut federal Medicaid funding by 10% in states like Colorado that use their own tax dollars to cover Medicaid for non-citizens. The bill could also impact Medicare reimbursement. Because it adds to the deficit, it triggers the "Pay As You Go Act," which makes automatic cuts to federal spending. Medicare reimbursement could drop by an estimated 4%. Stansbury says rural hospitals are not only underpaid by Medicaid and Medicare, but by commercial insurers. He says Lincoln Health receives 100% less reimbursement from commercial carriers than hospitals in the Denver metro area. Both the Senate and House bills allow a subsidy program enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic to expire at the end of the year. It caps premiums for those who buy insurance on the Health Exchange at 8.5% of a household's income. People who live in rural or mountain communities could see their premiums double.
Los Angeles Times
13 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Orange County congresswoman targeted by protests over Trump megabill, cuts to healthcare
Protestors railed on Tuesday against an Orange County congresswoman who could be a critical vote on President Trump's proposal to cut more than $1 trillion in federal dollars that helped pay for healthcare for those in need and extend tax cuts for millions of Americans. Trump's proposed 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' narrowly passed the U.S. Senate hours before hundreds ofpeople gathered in a cul-de-sac outside of the Anaheim field office of Republican Rep. Young Kim to protest those cuts. The legislation still needs to be voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives, which could happen before the end of the week. 'I don't know why they call it beautiful, because there's nothing about it that's beautiful. It's harmful, it's reckless, and it's cruel, and it's going to hurt people,' said Melody Mendenhall, a nurse at UCLA who is active with the California Nurses Assn., which was among the groups that organized the protest. 'Rep. Young Kim, hear our cry, hear our voices. We need our Medicaid. We cannot afford this type of reckless cuts and behavior.' A security guard blocked the parking lot to Kim's office and at least a half-dozen Anaheim police officers watched the protest unfold. Several people who appeared to be Kim staffers watched the demonstration from outside the building before they dashed inside when protestors marched to the building, unsuccessfully sought to enter it and then began chanting 'Shame! Shame!' In a statement, Kim said that her door was always open to Californians in her district. 'I understand some of my constituents are concerned and know how important Medicaid services are for many in my community, which is why I voted to protect and strengthen Medicaid services for our most vulnerable citizens who truly need it,' Kim said. 'I have met with many of these local healthcare advocates in recent months.' Trump's proposal would dramatically overhaul the nation's tax code by making cuts approved during the president's first term permanent, a major benefit the the corporations and the nation's wealthy, while slashing funding for historic federal safety-net programs including Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps provide food to low-income Americans. Roughly 15 million Californians, more than a third of the state, are on Medi-Cal, the state's version of Medicaid, with some of the highest percentages in rural counties that supported Trump in the November election. More than half of California children receive healthcare coverage through Medi-Cal. A version of the Republican bill was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives with Kim's support. The U.S. Senate narrowly approved an amended version of the bill on Tuesday. The defection of three GOP senators meant Vice President J.D. Vance had to cast the tie-breaking vote for it to pass in that chamber. The House and Senate will now work to reconcile their two different versions of the bill. This week was a district work week for members of Congress, but House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) ordered members back to Washington, D.C., for votes on the bill that could occur Wednesday or Thursday. Republicans hope to get the legislation to President Trump's desk for his signature by Friday, Independence Day, though there is some concern among its members about whether they will have enough votes to pass the bill because of potential defections and the united Democratic opposition. An analysis released by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office on Sunday estimated that the Senate version of the proposal would increase the national deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion from 2025 to 2034 and would result in 11.8 million Americans losing healthcare insurance in less than a decade. Trump praised the passage of the bill on social media and urged House Republicans to support the Senate plan. The proposal has caused a rift within the GOP, with and some House members have expressed reservations about the measure because of the amount it would add to the nation's deficit and its impact on their constituents. 'I've been clear from the start that I will not support a final reconciliation bill that makes harmful cuts to Medicaid, puts critical funding at risk, or threatens the stability of healthcare providers' in his congressional district, Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) wrote on the social media site X on Sunday. He represents more than a half million Central Valley residents who rely on Medicaid – the most of any congressional district in California, according to the UC Berkeley Labor Center. A spokesperson for Valadao on Tuesday didn't respond to a question about how the congressman planned to vote. Kim's Orange County district is more affluent than Valadao's, but roughly one in five of her constituents rely on Medicaid. The congresswoman was en route to Washington, D.C., at the time of the protest, according to a spokesperson. Outside her Anaheim field office, protestor after protestor described how the bill would impact vulnerable Californians, such as disabled children, the elderly, veterans and those who would lose access to reproductive healthcare. 'The stakes have never been higher. We are living in a time when our rights are under attack,' said Emily Escobar, a public advocacy manager for Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties. She said that federal funds do not pay for abortions, but help pay for other vital healthcare, such as cancer screenings, preventative care, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections and access to contraception. More than one-third of Planned Parenthood's patients nationwide reside in California. These cuts will result in clinics being shut down, effectively reducing access to abortion, Escobar said. 'Let me make this clear, this bill is a backdoor abortion ban,' she said. Shari Home, 73, said she and her husband were weighing how to divide their Social Security income on food, medication and medical supplies after her husband, who suffers several chronic health conditions, fell last year. 'The hospitalizations were so expensive, so we applied for and got Medi-Cal in January and food assistance, and it's been such a lifesaver,' said the Laguna Woods resident. 'Without Medi-Cal, I don't know what we would do. Our lives would not be good. We would not have the medications that he needs.' Michelle Del Rosario, 57, wore a button picturing her son William, 25, on her blouse. The Orange resident, one of Kim's constituents who has previously voted for her, is the primary caregiver for her son, who has autism, epilepsy and does not speak. Her son relies on his Medi-Cal coverage for his $5,000-a-month seizure medicine, as well as the home health support he receives, she said. 'He lives at home. He has desires, at some point, to live independently, to work, but he needs' these support services for that to happen, Del Rosario said.
