Trump’s tax bill puts health insurance at risk for more than 322,000 Virginians

VIRGINIA – As Winsome Earle-Sears praises Trump’s tax bill that could strip 322,000 Virginians of health insurance and leave rural hospitals at risk of closing by saying it “does so many great things,” Virginians and healthcare providers are speaking out about the devastating impacts the legislation will have. 

“Across the Commonwealth, Virginia families, doctors and healthcare providers are worried about Medicaid cuts and hospital closures – the direct result of Trump’s tax bill that Winsome Earle-Sears has said is doing ‘so many great things.’ Sears owes Virginians answers about why she’s cheering on hospitals closing and Virginians losing access to healthcare, ” said DPVA Spokesperson Maggie Amjad.

Read More About the Devastating Impacts of Trump’s Tax Bill Sears Has Backed: 

CBS 6, Richmond: Virginia mom worried about Trump's domestic policy law's impact on Medicaid

• Nearly five days after President Trump signed his domestic policy bill, some families of Virginians with special needs are worried about the law’s potential impact on their children.
• "It already cost millions of dollars to take care of a loved one with special needs, and having Medicaid gives the caregivers assurance that that person will get good quality care, and they don't have to worry about their health," said Pam Mines, founder and executive director of the JP Jumpers Foundation started in honor of her autistic son JP.
• Mines is also worried the funding cuts could inevitably cause many programs for those with disabilities in the Commonwealth to be on the chopping block.

Axios Richmond: Trump's Medicaid cuts threaten Virginia's hospitals

• Virginia hospitals and Richmond-area free clinics are warning that the Medicaid cuts in President Trump's tax and spending bill could reduce access to care and potentially force closures.
• Why it matters: The changes threaten to trigger a domino effect across Virginia's health care system, local operators tell Axios — increasing costs, wait times and the risk of staff layoffs as hundreds of thousands lose coverage.
• "I'm not sure how folks are supposed to survive during all of this," says Karen Legato, head of Richmond free clinic Health Brigade. 
• The phase-down of the Medicaid payments could cost Virginia hospitals over $2 billion annually, says Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association spokesperson Julian Walker.
• The "potentially devastating" impact could be most aggressive for the state's rural hospitals, where those payments account for up to a third of their revenue, Walker tells Axios.
• Nearly a quarter of Virginia's rural hospitals (7) were already at immediate risk of closing in June, per the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform.
• If hospitals close or scale back services, Walker says that can mean job losses or longer commutes for health care.

10 WAVY: Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association: Medicaid cuts could mean Va. hospital closures

• [...] questions and concerns continue to pour in on the effects the bill could bring — most of them relating to Medicaid cuts, with many Virginians concerned about how to move forward.
• “We have grave concerns about what these policy changes could mean for the stability and survival of hospitals, for the availability and access of healthcare services in the community and to the economic benefits that hospitals provide,” said Julian Walker, vice president of communications for the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association.

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