The House of Delegates and State Senate both voted Saturday to pass a state budget bill with language that will form a 10-person commission to review and examine health care reforms before allowing Virginia to proceed with full Medicaid expansion.
The vote in the House was 83-17 in favor of the bill. The Senate voted 31-8 to advance the legislation to Gov. Bob McDonnell.
The bill heading to the governor would authorize the expansion of the Medicaid program to 400,000 Virginians if specific reforms to the program are met. The legislation also establishes a special committee to certify whether the reforms have been put in place to allow the expansion, effective July 1, 2014.
“The budget language is a step in the right direction, but many of us would have liked a clearer statement that we intend to expand Medicaid immediately. Medicaid expansion will bring health care coverage to 400,000 low-income workers, veterans and children, create 30,000 jobs, and delaying enactment costs Virginia millions of dollars per day. The failure means that hard working Virginia taxpayers will subsidize health care coverage in neighboring states which have expanded Medicaid,” said House Democratic Leader David J. Toscano (D- Charlottesville).
“We have put Virginia on a clear path to expanding Medicaid. Isn’t it immoral to deprive 400,000 Virginians – our neighbors – of medical insurance? Isn’t it immoral to deprive 30,000 Virginians – our neighbors — of good-paying jobs? Isn’t it immoral to send the hard-earned money of tax-paying Virginians, that should be coming here, to other states? Today, we have made a wise choice and done the right thing,” State Sen. Janet D. Howell (D-Fairfax) said.
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