Ayala Releases Plan for Quality, Affordable Healthcare for All Virginians

Ayala Releases Plan for Quality, Affordable Healthcare for All Virginians

Plan will expand access to affordable, quality healthcare across Virginia, modernizes our healthcare infrastructure, prioritizing mental healthcare, and protecting and expanding reproductive rights in the Commonwealth

Woodbridge, VA — Delegate Hala Ayala, Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor, released her plan for quality, affordable healthcare for all Virginians. Ayala released her comprehensive healthcare plan after the release of her first television and radio earlier this morning, which highlighted her record as a champion for healthcare in the General Assembly.

The fight for access to affordable, quality healthcare is personal to Ayala because when Hala’s son was born, her job at the time offered no health insurance. When her newborn son experienced health complications, Hala was able to get care through Medicaid — and it saved his life. That is why she will always fight for access to affordable healthcare for all Virginians.

Ayala’s plan includes:  

• expanding access to affordable healthcare for all by:
  • implementing a state reinsurance program 
  • strengthening our Medicaid program by creating a statewide Medicaid “buy-in” option on the exchange
  • providing financial support for families struggling with healthcare premiums
• supporting and expanding rural healthcare by:
  • expanding telehealth options and closing access gaps
  • incentivizing medical students to practice in rural areas
  • partnering with federal legislators to provide additional funding for transportation costs
• ensuring prescription drug price transparency by:
  • setting price caps on life-saving medications like inhalers and Epi-Pens
  • creating a Consumer Protection and Accountability Division within the State Corporation Commission
• prioritizing mental healthcare and decriminalizing mental health by:
  • tackling the suicide epidemic among Virginia’s veterans
  • focusing mental health resources on early intervention, crisis prevention and wellness across the lifespan by expanding STEP-VA
  • increasing funding for substance abuse disorder prevention and treatment
  • decriminalizing health and supporting crisis diversion centers
  • supporting our children’s mental health
• promoting healthcare equity by:
  • combating maternal, fetal and infant mortality disparities
  • requiring bias and cultural competency training for healthcare providers
  • diversifying Virginia’s healthcare system
  • improving health data collection and reporting by race and ethnicity
• modernizing our healthcare infrastructure by:
  • modernizing our Medicaid enrollment processes
• protecting Virginians with disabilities by:
  • using federal dollars to support permanent supportive housing
  • ending the ID/DD waiver wait list
• protecting reproductive rights and expanding access to care by:
  • passing a constitutional amendment codifying Roe v Wade
  • increasing abortion access and coverage
  • ensuring access to contraceptive care

“Medicaid saved my son’s and my life, which is why I was honored to be a deciding vote to expand healthcare coverage to more than 500,000 Virginians,” said Delegate Hala Ayala. “But we still have so much work left to do. More than 700,000 Virginians have been uninsured during this pandemic. I’m proud to release my television ad highlighting my record of fighting for affordable healthcare for all Virginians as well as my plan to lower healthcare costs and expand access to quality, affordable healthcare throughout the Commonwealth.”

Ayala’s plan is the third comprehensive plan that she has released during the campaign and is the most comprehensive healthcare plan in the Lieutenant Governor’s field.

You can read an executive summary of Ayala’s plan and record here.

You can read the full plan here.

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Delegate Hala Ayala is running for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia with a vision for a strong, just, and prosperous future for the Commonwealth. Ayala, who would be the first woman and first Afro-Latina to hold the position, embodies the bridge between Virginia’s past and its future, as well as the bridge between struggle and success that many Virginia families face. Learn more at HalaForVirginia.com. 

Paid for by Hala for Virginia