Virginia Health Care Coalition United Against AHCA, Deems it ‘Malpractice’ Not Reform in Letter to Congress

RICHMOND, VA — On the eve of the anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act, which brought health insurance to millions of Americans — including hundreds of thousands of Virginians –congressional lawmakers are working to roll back those gains and force them back onto the rolls of the uninsured.

“What the House Republicans are getting ready to do is commit malpractice,” said Jill Hanken, who is part of the Healthcare for All Virginians coalition, a 109-member statewide effort of Virginia organizations which have been working to improve health care in Virginia since 2009.

The coalition has sent a letter to their members of Congress outlining their concerns, which include:

• Virginia’s Medicaid program, already ranked 47th in per capita spending would become even more restrictive under Congress’ per capita cap proposal, threatening coverage and services for the one million children, pregnant women, seniors, and disabled, who rely on Virginia Medicaid today.

• The AHCA will permanently deny non-expansion states like Virginia the opportunity to get enhanced federal funding for Medicaid coverage to more low-income adults. Current rules in Virginia deny coverage to low income parents if their income is higher than $10,500 / year (family of 3 in Northern Virginia).  And childless adults can’t qualify, no matter how poor they are.

• The AHCA’s tax cut provisions will undermine the Medicare trust fund – threatening the stability of the program for 1.3 million Virginia Medicare beneficiaries.

• The AHCA will raise premiums (especially for older populations), eliminate critical cost-sharing reductions (especially for lower income populations) and reduce services covered (for all). In 2017, about 400,000 Virginians signed up for private coverage through the ACA marketplace. Most rely on tax credits to pay for their policies. AHCA will put insurance costs out of reach, increasing the number of uninsured.

Healthcare for All Virginians is a coalition of over 109 organizations and individuals working to help create and advocate for accessible and affordable quality health care for all Virginians.