Manchin, after big victory, pitches health plan

By Lawrence Messina

CHARLESTON — Buoyed by the largest victory margin ever won by someone seeking his office, Gov. Joe Manchin vowed Thursday to extend health coverage to every uninsured working West Virginian — possibly through the main benefits program for state employees.

Manchin said he could propose expanding the state’s Public Employees Insurance Agency to cover small businesses.

He may also ask lawmakers to let the working poor keep their Medicaid benefits for 10 years once their rising income otherwise leaves them ineligible. The grace period is now five years.

“I’m committed to getting every working person health care,” the Democrat told The Associated Press. “They’ll say it’s too costly. Well, hell, it’s costly now.”

The latter option would require a federal waiver, and both are among several that require more research, Manchin spokeswoman Lara Ramsburg later said. She added that the economy or other factors could delay his health care proposals beyond 2009, but that they would remain a priority of his second term.

About 254,000 West Virginians, just over 14 percent, lack health insurance, according to the latest Census estimates. PEIA already covers about 197,000 state workers, retirees and their families, while about 281,000 residents rely on Medicaid. The two programs cost the state $1.2 billion last year.

The governor also pledged to continue the gradual tax cuts that helped define his first term — but he offered no specific tax-related proposal for next year’s session. He instead cautioned that a national recession could at least hamper that goal.

“Are we going to stop the progression we’re having? Not at all,” the governor said. “But when we see a storm coming that we have no control over, we’re not going to get ourselves in a position where we’re hemorrhaging.”

Manchin won re-election Tuesday with nearly 70 percent of the vote, an apparent record according to a review of previous results. He carried all 55 counties, including the Raleigh County base of Republican opponent Russ Weeks.

A former state senator, Weeks received just under 26 percent of the vote, unofficial returns show. Jesse Johnson drew 4.5 percent, ensuing his Mountain Party a place on the 2012 ballot. State election rules require at least 1 percent of the vote to keep ballot status.

An estimated 488,835 West Virginians backed Manchin for a second term. Only three governors have attracted a larger number of votes: Homer Holt in 1936, Matthew Neely in 1940 and now-Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., in 1976.

Exit polling conducted by AP suggested support near or above 70 percent for Manchin among all age, education and income levels and among both genders. It measured 59 percent support among Republicans, and 62 percent among self-described conservatives.

Manchin attributed Tuesday’s outcome to a growing confidence by residents in their state, and themselves. Besides shaving down both business and consumer taxes, such as the one on groceries, the state has narrowed funding shortfalls in its pension programs and built up its emergency reserves since he took office in 2005.

Thanks to such policies and a booming coal market, West Virginia has so far weathered the global financial crisis that has buffeted other states.

“We have cash flow, we have reserves. We’re going to get through it,” the governor said.

Manchin said his second-term agenda also includes continuing efforts to reorient higher education toward providing the skills needed by the modern work force. He said he also remains dedicated to seeking cleaner ways to derive energy from coal, while also increasing an emphasis on such renewable sources as wind power.

The governor credited both the Legislature and public employees for the state’s recent successes. Some in the latter group are among Manchin’s most vocal critics, however, particularly teachers unhappy with the pace of pay raises.

While giving no concrete proposal, Manchin pledged to rely on federal worker wage levels as a benchmark for the state to meet or exceed. He said he’s also halfway met an administration goal to cut $350 million in wasteful spending.