Senator Creigh Deeds

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You are here: Home / Archives for Affordable Care Act

The Big Enchilada

February 16, 2018 by Creigh Deeds

Crossover came and went the day before Valentine’s Day. It was notable for lots of things, both done and undone. The biggest enchilada remains Medicaid expansion.

The energy for expansion is coming from the House of Delegates. Invigorated by the results of the 2017 election, the increased Democratic minority is absolutely committed to expanding Medicaid. The reduced Republican majority seems resigned to it and apparently wants to put the issue behind them, so it will not control the flow of another election cycle. In the Senate, which was last on the ballot in 2015, the discussion does not appear to be that dramatic. But behind the scenes, the pressure is building. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Virginia General Assembly 2018 Tagged With: Affordable Care Act, Medicaid expansion, power company regulation, Virginia budget, Virginia transportation policy

Beating the Drum

January 26, 2018 by Creigh Deeds

The old saying “the days go slow, but the years go fast” reminds us that time passes relatively quickly. My belief is that we have to live with urgency because life is short and we only get so many days in which to make a difference. With legislative sessions, the days are long and full, but it is hard to believe we are already over two and a half weeks into the 2018 Session. Committee meetings occupy most of the mornings and afternoons, and the daily floor sessions are getting longer.

Medicaid Expansion

Medicaid expansion remains one of the priority issues this legislative session. In my newsletters in the past, I have outlined many of the benefits and potential concerns about expanding Medicaid. The bottom line is that Medicaid expansion would provide coverage to nearly 400,000 Virginians, seventy-five percent of whom work full-time or live with someone who does. The population we are discussing is the working poor: people who cannot get insurance through their employer and do not make enough to afford private insurance. Virginians are paying for Medicaid expansion through increased taxes contained in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). We are just not receiving the benefits of those taxes, which were not repealed during the first year of the new federal administration. In terms of cost, the federal government pays no less than 90 percent of expansion. In fact they paid 100 percent during the first few years. We lost out on that opportunity. Now it is down to 92.5 percent. We are spending state revenues because of our decision not to expand, so expansion would add nearly $130 million to Virginia’s budget. Expansion would allow us to ease the pain of many rural hospitals struggling to deal with federal cuts in Medicare reimbursement rates.  The money we save and the increased access to services would allow us to fulfill much of our vision to improve our mental health system. Medicaid expansion is critically important to me, and I will continue to beat the drum. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Virginia General Assembly 2018 Tagged With: Affordable Care Act, health care costs, Medicaid expansion, Virginia transportation policy

Packing Up

February 20, 2017 by Creigh Deeds

With about a week left before the 2017 Session ends, many of the controversial issues have been resolved. However, there are still some things to finalize. Several committees will be meeting on Monday, which is the final day for committees to act on legislation. In addition, the budget and many other bills are already in conference. As I mentioned in an earlier newsletter, the budget conferees will be working to develop a compromise budget during this final week of session. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Virginia General Assembly 2017 Tagged With: Affordable Care Act, Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Medicaid expansion

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