As a few attempts to address West Virginia’s woeful health indicators and perpetually bottom-of-the-barrel quality of life rankings have made their way into public policy over the past year, lawmakers have continued to look for new ways to address the matter.

As it seems these days everything must have a call back to some other well-known political slogan, the Make West Virginia Healthy Act of 2026 is meant to get ahead of some of our state’s worst health challenges.

“We all know the numbers … West Virginia leads the nation in chronic disease, disability, preventable illness,” said House Health and Human Resources Committee Chairman Evan Worrell, R-Cabell, lead sponsor of the bill. “And that’s not a talking point. We’re talking about our neighbors, more specifically our workforce, and definitely our Medicaid budget. Whether you sit on this side of the aisle or that one, we’re all paying for the bill for a system that waits until people are very sick before we act. This legislation says something simple but long overdue, and that’s prevention is common sense.”

Ideas for prevention include a “Food is Medicine” initiative with Medicaid, creation of a dedicated “Healthy Lifestyles Fund,” and a return to the old Presidential Fitness Test.

On this one, lawmakers appear to have the right idea in moving forward (the measure passed out of the House of Delegates Monday) while also understanding there are reasons to be cautious.

For example, Del. Henry Dillon, R-Wayne, voted against the bill out of a worry that it was giving the state too much power.

“We heard that this bill does not grow government. I’m having trouble with that one,” he said. “I want to see West Virginia have a thriving agricultural industry made up of small farms, family farms. I want to see our kids be able to eat that food, if they will. We need a lot of education for our students to train them in nutrition, and that should start early. We need to help them form those habits, but we need to do it without a massive expansion of government.”

Others expressed concern about potential cuts to federal funding that might knock down the effort before it ever gets off the ground; and skepticism about the effectiveness of the decades-old Presidential Fitness Test.

“It has never, ever worked,” said House Minority Leader Pro Tempore Kayla Young, D-Kanawha.

On that front, the Mountain State might want to take a look at Ohio’s Team Tressel Fitness Challenge. It purportedly “helps students build lifelong habits around fitness, healthy eating, and sleep and lays the foundation for a brighter future by improving students physical and mental health,” and is billed as a student-led, more flexible alternative to the Presidential Fitness Test, with potentially longer lasting results.

Any and all ideas must be considered, as lawmakers look to responsibly, effectively — and without bloating the bureaucracy — support West Virginians’ effort to be healthier and have a higher quality of life.