Clarksburg residents said the main challenges their community faces include finding work, homelessness and substance use disorder. Additionally, even though the area has more health care providers than much of West Virginia, they said they struggle to find affordable health care.
As part of Mountain State Spotlight’s “Citizens Agenda” approach to covering this year’s elections, I asked candidates running to represent Clarksburg in the House of Delegates 70th District about these issues. Incumbent Republican Delegate Mickey Petitto faces Democratic candidate Shannon Welsh.
Find out which House district you live in here.
These interviews have been edited for clarity and length.
Even though the region has hospitals and more health care providers than many other parts of the state, residents frequently mentioned affordable health care. They talked about the lack of specialty care, providers who take Medicaid, prescription drug prices and other out-of-pocket costs like co-pays. What will you do to improve access to affordable health care?
Petitto: There’s a lot of issues there, such as PEIA [Public Employees Insurance Agency – health insurance for state employees], and that premium is projected to increase. We had meetings on that just this week, and we’re trying to do as much as we can to curtail that. Naturally, everybody has to have insurance. And in the last session, we did get PEIA secured, but it’s going to take a little bit more work with getting everybody together, as far as getting the insurance companies to agree. The bottom line is the insurance companies are the controlling agents.
We did get the insulin taken care of, and we are addressing that. That’s under the Health Committee, which I am a member of.
We can’t really dictate to the hospitals their selection of physicians. When you get into those really deep specialty issues, you want to go where you’ll get the care that will secure your position in life. United Hospital Center does have a pretty wide staff, but I do know that specialty care does have to be sent out because we can’t afford in this area to compensate some of the doctors that are in those specialty classes. I’m interested in anything anyone has to say or any ideas anyone has. We can only vote on and actually introduce bills when we are in session, which is January through March, so we have time to put together anything between now and then.
Welsh: I believe while we have hospitals serving the community, many residents do struggle with accessing specialty care. It’s critical that we expand access to specialists, particularly in those rural areas. I have experience in working with those types of practices from my former career. I believe in increasing access to telemedicine initiatives and incentivizing providers to come practice here. I’ll work on policies that attract more specialists for our region and make it easier for residents to get the care that they need without having to travel long distances.
As far as Medicaid goes, I agree that there is a shortage of providers who accept Medicaid, and I actually worked for a former Fortune 500 company, and I was involved directly in negotiating the contracts that are involved for providers to accept Medicaid. I know firsthand how that system works, and I understand the difficulties from both sides. So I understand that it’s leaving many people without adequate care. I feel strongly that we need to improve Medicaid reimbursement rates to ensure that more doctors and specialists are willing to participate in the program. So I would like to push for reforms that encourage health care providers to serve every resident, regardless of their insurance status.
Out-of-pocket costs continue to burden families, so I would like to support legislation that starts to hold these pharmaceutical companies accountable and seeks to lower the drug costs. I think we need to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices and explore state-level programs that can offer relief to people struggling to afford just basic health care.
Also regarding health care, many residents brought up addiction, a lack of recovery residences, also known as sober living homes, and an increase in methamphetamine use. What are your plans to address addiction?
Petitto: Addiction is an epidemic that’s actually ruining not only our state, but our cities and our towns. The biggest part of the issue is that a 30-day or a 28-day program basically doesn’t cure the situation. It’s a help, and the ones that are really strong and able to do it may be able to break their addiction. But the main issue is that we really need longer-term treatments authorized for this epidemic. We have a new facility here in Clarksburg. I think they have 50-some beds, and it’s a 28-day program. But I went to their meetings just recently, and they are still indicating that we still need the housing for the longer-term treatments. I’m sure we’re going to address that. I am definitely interested in doing anything and everything we can for addiction. I’m not sure that the money that we got back from the addiction suit really is going in the right places.
I know that they’re going to be buying buses and things of that nature, rather than addressing the actual problem, which is addiction and helping those that are addicted.
I understand that buses are needed because much of the addiction problem is for them to be able to get to treatment, but I don’t think it really is addressing the addiction.
Welsh: I believe our region continues to struggle with addiction, and particularly with methamphetamine and opioids, and there are not enough recovery options available. I completely agree. I think to fix this, we need a comprehensive approach to this crisis, which would include expanding access to these treatment centers and recovery programs and getting the word out about the expansion. I would also like to advocate for more funding to bring more recovery services into our area, especially for those rural areas, and also long-term treatment facilities and counseling. A lot of these facilities are short term.
I also think that we should support preventative measures and education to stop addiction before it starts. In many cases, addiction is tied to untreated mental health issues, and we need to strengthen our mental health services as part of the recovery process. So I’ll push for integrated care that addresses both addiction and mental health, ensuring that individuals receive the holistic support that they need to recover and build their lives.
The biggest hurdles we face are funding and infrastructure, expanding these services and attracting more health care providers, especially in those rural areas. It requires significant investment, but I believe with the right partnerships, including state and federal support and working with local organizations, we can overcome these obstacles.
Another issue is breaking the stigma around addiction, which prevents people from seeking help. So by addressing addiction as a public health crisis rather than a criminal issue, I feel that we can create more community support for the programs that we need.
Residents with high school degrees said jobs available to them pay too little, or they can’t find a job at all as they face rising costs of living. What will you do to help residents secure well-paying jobs?
Petitto: You’ve got to have a college degree today. There are a lot of issues. One is day care. People are staying home because it’s cheaper for them to stay home and take care of their children rather than to pay for day care. And I just got notice today that our local day care is going to have to go to $12,000 a year in order to be able to survive. So day care is a big issue that we need to address.
As far as seniors go, I know they’re limited to Social Security or whatever retirement they may have. The income tax reduction is a help, but it’s not a big help to the seniors.
A lot of seniors are losing their homes because they can’t afford to pay the property taxes. And I’ve been meeting with assessors around the state to try to come up with a program where property taxes would be frozen to a point in time in the past, and it would not be increased until that person either is deceased or leaves that residence. But the assessors say that that money goes to the board of education, so therefore they don’t want to do it. So if it happens, it’s going to have to come from the legislative body.
As far as the wages, part of the day care issue is that the wages are lower than what the hospitals and medical facilities and even the board of education is paying. We passed a bill requiring the first through third grade to have assistants for the teachers and they did not necessarily have to have a degree, as long as they had experience, and we lost a lot of our day care workers to those jobs. It’s caused another problem that we need to address.
Welsh: So as a realtor, I am completely familiar with the housing aspect of it, and I really want to use my expertise to help that area specifically. Job availability and low wages are serious concerns. We need to focus on creating sustainable, good-paying jobs by investing in industries that have growth potential, like clean energy, technology and advanced manufacturing. I also support programs that provide skills training and education for our workforce so that workers can transition into these emerging industries and earn higher wages.
I partner with unions who are actually working on apprenticeship programs and working directly with educational facilities so once people pass an apprenticeship, they have some type of associate degree tied to it. I’ve been learning about how they are focused on potentially connecting their apprenticeship programs with some type of a degree and getting that system accredited. So, when these people come out of the training, they do have a degree to show for it and experience. I support programs that provide skills training for our workforce so that workers can transition into these emerging industries and earn higher wages.
I’ll advocate for policies that raise the minimum wage to ensure that hard-working people can support their families and thrive here in West Virginia.
The housing crisis is making it incredibly difficult for people to afford safe, quality homes. We need to work on increasing affordable housing options by encouraging the development of more housing projects and creating incentives for landlords to offer affordable rents. So I’ll also be pushing for housing assistance programs that help families struggling to find housing that they can afford. Everyone deserves access to stable housing, and addressing this issue is key to keeping our community strong.
Residents said people who are homeless who are walking the streets are aggressive when asking for money. But a veteran who stays at the Clarksburg Mission shelter said people who are unhoused have to walk the streets so police don’t charge them with loitering or trespassing, and that some of them, like himself, became homeless after they experienced mental health crises. What will you do to help people who are homeless and reduce homelessness in the area?
Petitto: Housing is a major issue, especially for the homeless, because basically, they don’t have the funds to be able to go out and help themselves. Homelessness comes from a lot of sources. I really don’t know exactly how to come up with the housing for the people, other than through DHHR programs.
But one of the issues also is there are some of those people who are homeless who want to be homeless, and you can’t really make them do anything other than pass laws to say that you can’t come into certain areas. And that brings up another problem, because I’m also on the prisons committee, and our prisons are overcrowded. So even arresting these people is not a solution. We don’t have room in our prisons. We did increase wages, but we didn’t get the wages for the support staff.
Technical licenses or degrees, without having to go to four-year colleges, are helping the young people. As far as older people, it’s a matter of getting the wages up. I think the minimum wage is [too low.]
The base wage for tipped workers is so low. That’s something that needs to be looked into.
Welsh: Homelessness is a struggle for nearly every city across the United States. And the homelessness situation in Clarksburg is complex. So, while public safety is important, we also need compassionate solutions that don’t criminalize people for being unhoused. It’s troubling to hear that people are facing arrest simply for walking or trespassing when they don’t have many other options. So I think a possible solution is investing in more shelters, better mental health services and long-term housing solutions that help those who are homeless transition back to stable living situations.
At the same time, I think we need to work on law enforcement to ensure that public safety is maintained, but in a way that treats individuals with dignity and respect. So instead of focusing solely on arrest, we should be connecting people with resources that they need, like addiction treatment, mental health support and job training programs.
