WV HB5238

Requires all public and private health insurance offered in West Virginia to cover screening for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) as part of preventative child wellness visits

Defines adverse childhood experiences as traumatic childhood events that cause physiological changes to the brain, immune system, stress response, and behavior patterns, increasing risk for chronic diseases like obesity, heart disease, and respiratory illness

Directs the State Department of Education to develop school-based ACE screening programs for children without health insurance coverage

Cites legislative findings that factors prevalent in West Virginia—including food insecurity, housing insecurity, single-parent households, and parental substance use disorder—are indicators of childhood trauma linked to later addiction and chronic disease