REMINDER: Virginia Republicans Support Bill That Will Rip Medicaid Coverage Away From Hundreds of Thousands of Virginians

A new Virginian-Pilot report outlines how the Trump-endorsed bill to gut Medicaid would rip health care coverage from over 260,000 Virginians and raise the costs for thousands more, disproportionately impacting working parents, children, and people with disabilities.

All five of Virginia’s House Republicans support this bill. Congresswoman Jen Kiggans and Congressman Rob Wittman, who publicly vowed in April that they would “protect Medicaid for vulnerable communities,” are supporting the bill. Wittman told the Virginia Mercury that he was “pleased” with the legislation, and Kiggans tweeted that this bill is “strengthening” Medicaid.

The Virginian-Pilot: Here’s how proposed federal cuts to Medicaid could impact Virginians

• “The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates at least 8.6 million people could become newly uninsured by 2034 as a result of Medicaid spending cuts proposed under President Donald Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill.’”
• “Virginia Medicaid, called Cardinal Care, and Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, together cover nearly 1 in 4 Virginians.”
• “One of the measures in the House proposal is to implement a work requirement on people who qualify for Medicaid through expansion — that’s adults under age 65 who make about $21,000 or less annually.”
• “Tolbert said most adults — 64% — who receive Medicaid but do not receive a disability income are already working full time. An additional 28% of that population are not working because they care for a dependent child or family member, are in school, or have an illness or disability that prevents them from working. But proving that those people meet the work requirements or have a qualifying exemption could be burdensome, Tolbert said.”
• “‘There are some provisions targeted directly at making it more difficult to enroll and stay enrolled in the program,’ said Emily Hardy, an elder law attorney at the Virginia Poverty Law Center.” 
• “The proposal also freezes the rate of provider taxes, one of the primary mechanisms by which states finance their share of Medicaid costs.”
• “The proposed legislation also excludes Planned Parenthood from participating in Medicaid. Jamie Lockhart, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia estimated about 25,000 people statewide are served by Planned Parenthood health centers. Nationally, more than half of Planned Parenthood patients are enrolled in Medicaid.”
• “Some Republicans say they want to see the spending bill go further in terms of cuts to spending. Rep. Ben Cline, a Virginia Republican, praised the bill during a House Budget Committee hearing last week.”
• “U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, a Virginia Democrat, also spoke at the committee meeting.”
• “‘After weeks of statements from Republican members that the budget they voted for twice does not cut Medicaid, this bill will rip away health care from millions of Americans who use Medicaid and makes health care expensive for everyone,’ he said.”

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