On this West Virginia Morning, the state legislature is proposing removing the state's certificate of need for healthcare providers. Health Reporter Emily Rice sat down with Jim Kauffman, president and CEO of the West Virginia Hospital Association, and Jessica Dobrinsky, chief of staff and Certificate of Need policy expert at the Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy, yesterday to talk about the potential change and how it could impact patients.

And this year's legislative session is already underway, but a partisan tug of war still hasn't been resolved. It's over who should fill the 91st district seat won by Joseph de Soto in November. Reporter Jack Walker talked to district residents about the drawn-out search for a successor.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Maria Young produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning