Will Speaker Howell support his own party’s healthcare bill?

Press release from the Democratic Party of Virginia

If House Republicans were serious about using this special session to close the healthcare coverage gap, you think they’d be wiling to at least consider a bill coming from their own party. Delegate Tom Rust (R-Fairfax) has a bill on the floor, but Speaker Howell and Republican leadership have been silent.

Since Speaker Howell and the Party of No have yet to put their own plans forward, will they support a bill coming out of their own ranks? Or would they prefer to see hospitals in their own communities fold rather than help hundreds of thousands of their own constituents?

The Speaker needs to answer to Virginians as to why he is willing to waste taxpayer dollars on special session while refusing to offer a plan of his own or take Rust’s plan seriously. He needs to come to the table to negotiate a compromise on this bill — or any other that will provide coverage to uninsured Virginians in the Medicaid gap.

We’ve been waiting all day for Republican leadership to prove they’re serious about helping 400,000 Virginians get access to the healthcare they need. So far, we’re not impressed.