In Northern Virginia, Kaine Meets With Concerned Parents & Pediatricians About Trumpcare's Medicaid Cuts
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, hosted a roundtable conversation in Springfield with concerned parents, children, and pediatricians, about what the Medicaid cuts in the Republican Senate Health Care bill – known as TrumpCare - could mean for medically complex children. Kaine heard directly from mothers and their children – who traveled from Richmond and throughout Northern Virginia to share their stories – about what Medicaid means to them and why it is a lifeline for their families. With more than one million Virginians relying on Medicaid for health care coverage, including 600,000 children, the Senate Republican health care bill would weaken benefits and raise health care costs for Virginia’s families.
“Sixty percent of Medicaid recipients in Virginia are children and they are served by it in so many different ways. When Republicans propose to dramatically change not just the Medicaid expansion but also the core Medicaid program that overwhelmingly affects the lives of 600,000 kids in Virginia, that is a major mistake,” Kaine said. “My office has received more than 11,000 calls, letters and emails, and 98 percent of them are saying not to pass this bill. It’s families and children like these and the stories they tell that’s convincing Virginians that this is a bad idea.”
Kaine heard stories today from five mothers from Virginia who rely on Medicaid to help care for their children with complex medical conditions. Kaine had shared their stories on social media ahead of the event:
- Kim and Isaac of Ashburn
- Jen and Cailyn of Sterling
- Angie and Anna of Haymarket
- Corinne and Dylan of Newington
- Amy and Declan of Richmond
Kaine has been a vocal critic of the bill and has traveled throughout the Commonwealth talking to parents, educators, and health care providers about how cuts to Medicaid would hurt Virginia’s children, including at recent events in Richmond, Culpeper and Charlottesville.
After Republicans were forced to cancel an earlier vote, he called on his Republican colleagues to listen to the families and health care providers asking them to drop TrumpCare, which would cause 22 million Americans to lose their health insurance. Instead, he wants them to work across the aisle with Democrats on proposals to improve the health care system that could get bipartisan support, including the reinsurance bill Kaine introduced earlier this month to help stabilize the individual health care marketplace and lower premiums.
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