Support the Senate plan for Medicaid expansion

This week Delegate Ken Plum sent out an appeal to ask voters to reach out to members of the General Assembly's Conference Committee to resolve the budget differences between the House and Senate and to support Medicaid expansion.  It's an important request.  As you may be aware, Virginia is giving away $5 million every day as we bicker about whether to accept the federal money. To be clear these are our federal tax dollars that are going down the drain as we watch this debate because Republicans don't want to be seen as supporting President Obama's Affordable Care Act.  Medicaid expansion is supported by the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and by hospitals all over the Commonwealth.

Last week the House of Delegates considered the Senate's version which included the creation of a health exchange through private markets. First off, I'd like to point out that only one Republican voted for the Senate version in the House of Delegates. That was Delegate Tom Rust, and he deserves recognition for standing up to his party on this issue.  But we still need more from him.  Showing his commitment to this pragmatic, business friendly approach, I ask Mr. Rust to use his political capital to urge his Republican colleagues to support Medicaid expansion now in the Conference Committee.  The General Assembly has an enormous opportunity to improve the lives of up to four hundred thousand working Virginians.    There is broad bipartisan support for expansion across the Commonwealth.  Mr Rust, you have the opportunity to do the right thing.  Bring your Republican colleagues along to the common-sense decision to support expansion.  If we can do this, we will have done the right thing for our citizens and for our economy.

Jennifer Barton Boysko

Herndon, VA

Former Democratic candidate for House of Delegates-VA 86th 

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Expand Medicaid Insurance in Virginia!

The House of Delegates and the State Senate have passed different versions of the budget. The State Senate budget includes a marketplace plan to expand Medicaid to more than a quarter million Virginians; the House of Delegates' budget includes no plan for the expansion of Medicaid. A conference committee has been appointed to resolve differences between the two budgets. 

Please email and/or call members of the House Conference Committee and ask them to support the Senate plan for Medicaid expansion. The plan is funded fully from tax monies paid by Virginia citizens and businesses and that money will go to other states if Virginia does not adopt a plan. The loss to Virginia is more than $5 million a day and more than a quarter million people left uninsured. 

Members of the House Conference Committee on Budget are:

Delegate Chris Jones (R-Suffolk) 804-698-1076; DelCJones@house.virginia.gov

Delegate Steve Landes (R-Verona) 804-698-1025; DelSLandes@house.virginia.gov

Delegate Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights) 804-698-1066; DelKCox@house.virginia.gov

Delegate Tag Greason (R-Loudoun) 804-698-1032;  DelTGreason@house.virginia.gov

Delegate John O'Bannon (R-Henrico) 804-698-1073; DelJOBannon@house.virginia.gov

Delegate Johnny Joannou (D-Portsmouth) 804-698-1079; DelJJoannou@house.virginia.gov

Click here to listen to my comments on the floor of the House challenging my colleagues to expand Medicaid.

For more information on this issue, please go to thehalfsheet.org.

Thank you for your assistance!  

Kenneth R. Plum

Delegate 36th District

kenplum@aol.com   

Delegate Ken Plum's Virginia E-News