Medicaid Expansion

In a move ostensibly designed to give both sides of the budget standoff in Richmond something they want, Sen. Emmett Hanger (R-Augusta) earlier today proposed a deal that would give House Republicans a budget free and clear of Medicaid expansion, in exchange for giving the…

Throughout the discussion of Medicaid expansion in Virginia, a particular theme keeps coming up: that the Governor may retain the ability to expand Medicaid coverage under Obamacare unilaterally, based on the executive branch’s existing authority to manage the state’s Medicaid plan, and leveraging language contained in the 2013 budget that set the stage for expansion via a special legislative commission (the Medicaid Innovation and Reform Commission, or MIRC).

Reports continue to show that veteran deaths were related to long wait times to see their doctors and poor care, all of which is a symptom of a government-run system lacking the outcome-driven incentives of the private sector. Now we are being pushed by Governor McAuliffe and the Democrats to turn Virginia into the VA!

Del. Rob Bell (R-Charlottesville) into the Governor for even considering the possibility of acting on Medicaid expansion without the explicit endorsement of the legislature. Raising the political cost to the Governor for potentially acting on his own is the right way to combat expansion.

The Washington Post’s Laura Vozzella finally catches on to the ‘Third Way’ that Virginia’s Medicaid expansion standoff may end. It’s not like we haven’t been telling her for some time.

Democrats and Governor McAuliffe are ready to play their “Go Straight to Jail” card with state employees, teachers, and police officers so they can purchase their “free parking” monopoly card – paid for with Obamacare dollars…and, we now learn, your higher property taxes.

Republicans look poised to win the public relations battle on the budget, but Terry McAuliffe may yet walk away with a very expensive consolation prize.