Health care access is rapidly becoming harder and harder for West Virginians. With the closure of both the maternity and pediatric wards at our local hospital and the soon-to-be greater requirements for Medicaid services later this year, not only will out-of-the-area travel become the norm, but for many, medical care will be out of reach.

We need a return to the commonsense basics that were the foundation of the Affordable Care Act, that healthy people, those who receive regular check-ups and preventative care, strengthen our communities, and that providing those services is fiscally sound.