Crossposted at ProgressVA.
In Mitt Romney’s new ad he admits that his first 100 days would only mean two things for Virginia: trying to undo health care reform and opening our coast to the dangers of offshore oil drilling that devastated the Gulf.
In Virginia, that would mean making 687,000 people give back their health insurance accountability rebates. It means women can be charge more for insurance and Virginians with pre-existing conditions can be denied coverage. For seniors it means higher prices for prescriptions while also eliminating free preventative care and increasing Medicare premiums.
Furthermore, the frequency of oil spills off the coasts of states that allow drilling poses a huge threat to Virginia’s costal economy, which depends on tourism and military installations. Mitt Romney, George Allen, and Bob McDonnell don’t want you to know how many oil spills a year drilling will mean for Virginia let alone what a spill like the recent one in the gulf would do to our Commonwealth. But most important is the unacceptable risk that offshore oil drilling poses to the naval forces in Hampton Roads–home to the world’s largest naval base. We cannot risk the security of our nation and the security of the men and women in the military that call Virginia home for the benefit of big oil. Offshore oil drilling interferes with naval training, testing, ordnance training, carrier operations, and would be in the way when the fleet has to put to sea during dangerous weather, such as a hurricane when it is unsafe for them to stay in port. In fact, it would so interfere with our military that, according to the Washington Post, “A newly released U.S. Defense Department report shows that exploratory drilling for oil and natural gas off almost three-quarters of the Virginia shoreline where the government has proposed those activities is incompatible with military operations and training.”
After the fold are the facts and figures on what Mitt Romney’s 100 day plan means for our health.
Repealing Obamacare means rolling back reforms that have improved Virginian’s health care access and put us, not insurance company CEOs, in charge of health care decisions. Here’s what Obamacare means for Virginia families:
- Without Obamacare, we’d have more bankruptcy for families struggling with serious illnesses, higher costs for small businesses, and children with pre-existing conditions denied coverage.
- 62,846 young Virginians have gained coverage under the law by staying on their parents health insurance.
- 84,97 Virginia seniors have saved Virginia’s seniors have saved $48,949,685 through reforms to close the Medicare donut hole.
- 837,645 Virginians have received free preventative health services.
- Virginians are receiving $43,127,639 in premium rebates from their health insurance companies
- 2,974,000 Virginians, including 1,121,000 women and 817,000 children, are free from worrying about lifetime limits on coverage.
- 982 previously uninsured residents of Virginia who were locked out of the coverage system because of a pre-existing condition are now insured through a new Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan
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