West Virginia’s premier free-market policy research organization. Developing solutions that promote liberty, opportunity, and prosperity for all Mountaineers.
West Virginia
Joined January 2015
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Cardinal Institute retweeted
Yeah, and it did a lot of good. West Virginia spent 60% of $1.1B in one-time ESSER money on salaries, benefits and property, despite warnings NOT to build permanent costs on it. Either way, since 2017, spending rose as enrollment fell by 30,000+. Our result: 8th-grade reading 21% proficient, math 18%. 48th nationally.
Cardinal Institute retweeted
"It’s misguided to blame a brand new program and to try and restrict options for parents who are just trying to do the best thing for their kids,” Ballengee said.
WV policy advocates defend stance on Hope Scholarship in light of Mingo County lawsuit wvnews.com/statejournal/news…
Cardinal Institute retweeted
"Cardinal’s leaders distributed research, published columns in newspapers and linked up with other groups, like AFP and the Institute for Justice, which litigates libertarian causes, to push the issue. They also found allies in parents who wanted ..."
I mean, yeah, pretty much.
NEW: This Republican tried to cap the Hope Scholarship. Out-of-state billionaires helped bankroll efforts to replace him.
mountainstatespotlight.org/2…
Cardinal Institute retweeted
The West Virginia Hospital Association is worried that if we repeal Certificate of Need, someone will cherry-pick the profitable services and walk away from maternity care.
I have some news for them...
New op-ed in WV News is out today:
Cardinal Institute retweeted
Traditional public schools continue to see declines in enrollment. When districts lose students, they generally end up with more money per remaining student than growing districts. This gives schools an opportunity to be smarter with their funding.
dcjournal.com/fewer-students…
ALT Sure, here's an alt text description: "Digital article from DC Journal titled 'Fewer Students Should Mean Smarter Schools, Not Permanent Budgets' by Marty Lueken, dated October 12, 2026. The article discusses declining public school enrollment and its implications. A headshot of Marty Lueken is shown, labeled as Director of Fiscal Research & Education Center.
Cardinal Institute retweeted
REPORT ALERT: My co-authors & I report that, nationally, more than a quarter of a million students with disabilities (SWDs) participate in a private #SchoolChoice program, representing 15.5-17.2% of all choice students, a rate higher than the representation of SWDs in district-run public schools. aei.org/research-products/re…
Cardinal Institute retweeted
Jessica Dobrinsky, writer and researcher on health policy and the founder of JLD Policy Solutions, a policy consulting firm, said the scholarship is great for both families and the community.
“It introduces this competitive market,” she said. “It can reduce the size of the classroom; it can take the load off of teachers who are expected to manage overflowing classrooms and all these other things that teachers really shouldn’t be required to do, like emotional regulation. It’s an empowerment across the system.”
journalism.wvu.edu/wv-today/…
Cardinal Institute retweeted
Today WVU Medicine officially took over five hospitals in western Pennsylvania and committed $800 million over the next five years to modernize them.
Pennsylvania has no Certificate of Need law. WVU Medicine is competing there without a permission slip, and investing heavily to do it.
In West Virginia, the hospital lobby says we can't survive without one.
If competition works in Butler and Latrobe, why not in Buckhannon and Ranson?
Patients over systems, always. wvumedicine.org/news/article…
Cardinal Institute retweeted
West Virginia is practicing sound policy when it comes to exempting data center equipment from sales taxes.
Cardinal Institute retweeted
Year 3 of the West Virginia Hope Scholarship is in the books and program participation nearly doubled since the previous year. This analysis, done by The Cardinal Institute and EdChoice, examines the fiscal impacts of the scholarship during its third year. @CardinalWV @mlueken2
cardinalinstitute.com/resear…
Cardinal Institute retweeted
A West Virginia non-profit hospital system: $0 taxes, protected from competition, discounted drugs through 340B, commercial markups and facility fees, and public dollars that multiply through a federal match—all while it buys up independent rural providers and closes service lines.
What do patients get back? Less than a penny on the dollar in free or reduced care and a health care market that's more expensive, harder to access, and doesn't work for them.
Cardinal Institute retweeted
Fresh commentary from me in the Gazette!
Mingo's school-closure debate has new evidence to consider.
A new study by @edchoice researcher @mlueken2 looks at data from 1992–2020 and finds no broad, abrupt rise in closures after private school choice began.
The rural-school analysis found no evidence of increased closures after adoption. Some later increases appeared in urban and town schools. The findings challenge a blanket claim that private school choice leads to school closures.
Read: doi.org/10.1080/15582159.202…
Cardinal Institute retweeted
Keep this in mind, West Virginia.
In 2024, WVU Medicine ended deliveries at Jefferson Medical Center, in one of West Virginia’s fastest-growing counties, saying 200 births a year wasn’t enough to sustain the unit. Months later, it opened a birthing center in Uniontown, Pennsylvania.
Now it’s committing $800 million to five Pennsylvania hospitals, plus another $17 million in Fulton County, in a state with no Certificate of Need law.
The CEO of Peak Health, the insurance company WVU Medicine co-owns, says southwestern Pennsylvania “looks a lot like West Virginia.”
But at home, we’re treated differently. CON and dominant systems like WVU decide what healthcare looks like for West Virginia patients, and WVU hospitals use that law to block competitors.
In fact, WVU Medicine’s St. Joseph’s Hospital used the CON process to block Stonewall Jackson Memorial from building a new facility in Lewis County. Lewis County mothers are now directed to St. Joseph’s to deliver.
WVU Medicine enjoys enormous state protections and subsidies at home while it finances expansion elsewhere.
Are we focused on patients or the brand?
Cardinal Institute retweeted
Federal rules are about to reshape how West Virginia funds its hospitals. Before those changes land, we should be asking the hard questions about hospital finance—who really pays, who really benefits, and whether patients are anywhere in the equation.
My new report follows the money. ↓
CMS approved up to $1.34 billion in additional Medicaid payments for West Virginia hospital services in FY2025.
@jldobrinsky's new paper follows that money and asks what the public can see.
Read more: cardinalinstitute.com/resear…
Cardinal Institute retweeted
We will also work to fix the public schools this next session— everyone deserves the best education for their kids.
Public school and Hope kids alike!! Too much nonsense and overspending over the years on bloat and underperforming even though much monies have been spent. That must change!! Time for WV to rise!!!
It’s time for our comeback.
Cardinal Institute retweeted
Certificate of Need law is failed policy. Repeal is long overdue.
Protect patients, not incumbents. #endCON
Cardinal Institute retweeted
What is "Certificate of Need" & Should it Be Repealed?
Guest @jldobrinsky is a health policy fellow with The @CardinalWV. She says states should repeal Certificate of Need laws. Listen to her reasoning here: tomrotenshow.com/podcast/epi…
Cardinal Institute retweeted
ICYMI: Listen here! Thanks again to @TomRoten for the opportunity to talk more about my work, why CON has to go, and why West Virginia's patients should come first, not last, in the debates on healthcare.
🔗 tomrotenshow.com/podcast
Cardinal Institute retweeted
Thankful for the opportunity to speak at last week’s @StatePolicy Annual Meeting on @CardinalWV’s Special Circumstance Review report and student discipline policy in public ed. Encouraged by the discussion and impact of the work from my fellow panelists @davetrabert and @realkylekoenen @WILawLiberty
