After the Virginia Senate voted to approve Medicaid expansion, Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach released the following statement:
“Today’s vote in Virginia is a smack in the face to the Trump Administration and the Republicans in Congress who keep pushing an out-of-touch, anti-health-care agenda. While they keep voting for health care repeal and sabotaging the system, Virginia voters demanded – and won – expanded coverage. Up to four hundred thousand Virginians will gain coverage through today’s Medicaid expansion, a tremendous step for Virginia’s health care system and its economy. In the four years since states began expanding Medicaid, more than fifteen million Americans have gained coverage, giving these individuals and families control of their health care and providing peace of mind that a medical emergency will no longer result in bankruptcy, or worse. While it’s unfortunate that Virginia Republicans insisted on imposing work requirements as a precondition for this achievement, today’s vote highlights growing momentum across the country to expand access to health care. Virginia is the latest state to do the right thing, but it surely won’t be the last. Thanks to everyone who never gave up on this fight, from grassroots organizers across the Commonwealth to leaders in Richmond, who have today secured a landmark achievement for Virginia.”