Rasoul announces COVID recovery plan with public option proposal, support for small business

Roanoke Del. Sam Rasoul released on Thursday his plan to lower healthcare costs and increase access, invest in Virginia caregivers and families, and level the playing field for small business.

The announcement follows the passage of two healthcare bills that Rasoul, a candidate for the Democratic Party nomination for lieutenant governor, introduced in this year’s General Assembly session to increase vaccine capacity and lower barriers to health care access.

Rasoul’s plan includes:

• A statewide public option for health care
• The creation of a Drug Price Affordability Board
• Waiving unpaid utility bills for the unemployed and caregivers who can’t work
• A Marshall Plan for Moms that includes child care for all and paid family and medical leave for every worker
• A new tax rebate for small businesses up to $25,000 and increased Rebuild VA grant funding
• Updated reporting requirements for large, multistate corporations

Read the full plan on Rasoul’s website.

“After a tragic year, we can finally see light at the end of the tunnel. But ending the pandemic is only step one—we must also correct the inequities in our economy and health care system that were exposed in the last year,” Rasoul said. “We have to end the injustice of tying health care to employment and implement a public option. We have to listen to the data and pass a Marshall Plan for Moms that supports caregivers and families. And we need to rescue our small businesses to level the playing field with large corporations who too often bend the rules in their favor.”