News + Press
News + Press
News + Press
West Virginia Democratic Party Slams BDO PEIA Report: More of the Same—Higher Costs, Fewer Benefits
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 10, 2025
CHARLESTON, WV — The West Virginia Democratic Party sharply criticized the release of the BDO report on the Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA), which was made available to lawmakers only minutes before it was presented in the Joint Standing Committee on Insurance and PEIA during the just completed interim meetings. The report proposes a series of changes that would shift more costs onto West Virginia’s workers and families rather than strengthening the program.
Among the options highlighted in the report are: steep annual premium hikes, new restrictions on prescription drug coverage, spousal disenrollment, tiered benefits for new hires, shrinking the pool of covered members, and even the possibility of full privatization of PEIA.
“When Governor Morrisey boldly declared in April that he didn’t intend to ‘kick the can down the road’ on PEIA, many of us assumed he meant investing resources to stabilize the program,” said West Virginia Democratic Party Chair Mike Pushkin. “Instead, he’s offered nothing but higher costs and fewer benefits for our state workers. That is not reform—that is retreat.”
Delegate John Williams said “Public employees are far from dumb, for years they have begged for a dedicated funding source for PEIA, and once again there is no real plan for that. Until we have a dedicated funding source, public employees will always wonder if their benefits are safe. That’s no way to treat our employees as a state”
Pushkin noted that these proposals come at a time when West Virginia is already struggling to retain and recruit teachers, CPS workers, EMTs, corrections officers, and other frontline employees due to wages and benefits that lag behind surrounding states.
“Undermining PEIA means making it even harder to fill the most critical jobs in our communities,” Pushkin continued. “Our state cannot afford to balance the budget on the backs of the state workers who keep West Virginia running. We need real investment, not more broken promises.”
The West Virginia Democratic Party calls for the Governor and legislative leaders to reject the cost-shifting measures outlined in the BDO report and instead prioritize sustainable funding for PEIA that protects benefits and keeps health care affordable for state workers and their families.
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