West Virginia health care advocates have joined thousands of doctors and public health professionals across the country to call on the U.S. Senate to reject President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Robert Kennedy Jr. to the head of the federal Department of Health and Social Services.
Former state Rep. Barbara Fleischauer joined representatives from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy and the West Virginia Citizen Action Group to speak out against Kennedy’s confirmation at a press conference Friday by Protect our Care, a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect health care for all Americans.
Kennedy, a member of the Kennedy family and founder of the anti-vaccine organization Children’s Health Defense, reiterated the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism and called COVID-19 vaccines “crime against humanity. »
He also said that fluoride should be removed from the country’s drinking water, despite the experts’ assertion that it is safe and effective in reducing tooth decay.
Lynette Maselli, state director of Protect our Care, said Kennedy’s lack of experience in public health and government leadership and his radical views on vaccination make him a threat to West Virginians .
Health and Human Services oversees the federal government’s Medicaid and Medicare programs and the federal health insurance marketplace. Together, these programs provide health care coverage to more than hundreds of thousands of West Virginians.
Congress is considering proposals that would reduce the federal contribution to Medicaid, including making the program funded by block grants and imposing per capita caps, Maselli said.
“These proposals to cut federal Medicaid funding by billions of dollars would leave a $235 million hole in West Virginia’s state budget and lead tens of thousands of our friends and family to not be assured,” she said.
Rhonda Rogombe, health policy analyst for the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, said it is important to protect Medicaid, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act, because of the health care coverage options they offer.
“Without them, hospitals will have to provide uncompensated care, which strains our health care system, which provides jobs and economic activity in West Virginia, and which is one of our largest industries and plays a huge role in keeping people healthy…and supporting our local economy.
Nationally, more than 15,000 doctors have joined a letter this week, urging the US Senate not to confirm RFK’s nomination for Secretary of Health, according to NBC News. The head of the American Public Health Association also spoke out against Kennedy’s nomination, saying the country deserves better.
“To effectively lead our nation’s largest health agency, a candidate must have the appropriate education, management skills, temperament and public trust,” » said Dr. Georges C. Benjamin in a statement in November. “Unfortunately, Mr. Kennedy is failing on all fronts.”
Mindy Holcomb, a patient advocate with the Citizen Action Group, said Friday that Kennedy should “absolutely not” be running the nation’s health care system. She said one of the organization’s legislative priorities is protecting Medicaid.
“In West Virginia, we have a lot of people who are immunocompromised. We are not the healthiest states,” she said. “So many people will be at risk if vaccination rates decline in one way or another. In terms of Medicaid, the [Affordable Care Act] and Medicare, ugh. I’m sorry, this is so worrying. Medicaid is something our West Virginians depend on for their health care. Our rural health centers would be nearly decimated if we cut or eliminated these programs.
Fleischauer, a Democrat who represented Monongalia County for more than 20 years and served on the House Health Committee, said she was initially open-minded about Kennedy’s nomination, but the more she examined it, the more shocked she became by the implications of Kennedy’s statements. .
Kennedy was blamed for a 2019 measles epidemic on the island of Samoa which killed 83 people. He had visited the island before the outbreak and met with activists who were calling on islanders to forgo the measles vaccine and use alternatives.
Fleishauer said the outbreak in Samoa in particular scared him.
“They made 83 children die,” she said. “It’s a small island. Eighty-three innocent children died because they were not vaccinated.”
West Virginia has some of the best health policy laws in the country, she said, and they have helped the state avoid similar outbreaks.
West Virginia is one of five states that does not allow religious or philosophical exemptions for school vaccine requirements. Sen.-elect Jim Justice, as governor last year, vetoed a bill that would have relaxed the state’s requirements for school vaccinations, allowing private schools to develop their own regulations . Medical professionals said high vaccination rates have contributed to the state having only one case of measles reported in the last 15 years.
“Misinformation kills people, especially children and the elderly. I really hope that Senator Justice and Capito will both oppose his nomination,” she said. “I think it would be very bad for the state of West Virginia and very bad for our country.”
Justice has already said that she was in favor of her friend’s authorization, President-elect Donald Trump, to “name the team he absolutely believes in.”
The judge held his final virtual administrative briefing as governor on Friday but, contrary to his usual practice, he did not take questions from reporters.
Capito has not commented for this story.
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