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SunGazette
VOLUME 35 NO. 34
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G R E AT FA L L S • M c L E A N • V I E N N A • O A K T O N
APRIL 17, 2014
Legislators Dissect Unfinished ‘14 Session, Medicaid BRIAN TROMPETER Staff Writer
How was this year’s General Assembly session? Local lawmakers won’t know until it’s over. Four members of Northern Virginia’s General Assembly delegation briefed Greater McLean Chamber of Commerce members
April 10 about the highs and lows of the 2014 session. Speaking at a breakfast event at American Legion Post 270 in McLean, the legislators said fierce partisan wrangling over whether to expand Medicaid coverage to 400,000 Virginians has forced state lawmakers back into a special session, which still has not concluded.
The General Assembly must pass the state’s budget before July 1, the start of fiscal year 2015, said Del. Bob Brink (D-48th). “We don’t have the luxury of a continuing resolution,” he said. “This is an action enforcer.” Virginia loses $5 million per day by not taking advantage of federal Medicaid dollars
KIDS DELIGHT AT EASTER EGG HUNT AT FREEMAN HOUSE
Connor Prentice and Charlie Grace decorate their Easter eggs during an Easter-themed event on the lawn at Vienna’s historic Freeman House on April 12. Children had the opportunity to decorate eggs, participate in an egg roll and visit with the Easter Bunny. PHOTO BY DEB KOLT
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that would be received under the expansion, the legislators said. The federal government’s subsidy would decrease from 100 percent to 90 percent after three years. Republicans have objected to the plan because of doubts about the effectiveness of government-sponsored health care, fraud within the Medicaid program and the possibility the federal government might not keep to its commitment to pay for the expansion. Democrats have entertained all reasonable proposals regarding Medicaid expansion, said state Sen. Barbara Favola (D-31st). Gov. McAuliffe offered to put the federal moneys in a trust fund and the Senate crafted a Marketplace Virginia plan that requires patients to provide a co-pay, she said. Brink said he had expected both sides to craft a compromise that would allow them to claim victory, but Republicans in the House of Delegates have not budged. About 95 percent of the GOP’s opposition is based on politics and ideology, said Brink, who also cited strong Tea Party influence in Virginia. McLean resident and financial adviser Bill Frazer pressed the legislators over the Medicaid controversy, saying that once government programs are created, they are impossible to kill. “It seems like a bait-and-switch the federal government is putting out there for us,” Frazer said. Favola countered that the U.S. government had maintained Medicaid funding since the program’s creation in 1965 and expressed confidence the General Assembly would reach an agreement on the issue. “For many Republicans, this would mean jobs in their districts,” she said. “The biggest opponents have the highest percentage of uninsured [constituents].” The General Assembly had some successes this year, such as scaling back some Standards of Learning (SOL) testing and increasing