Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Virginia Lawmaker Becomes First Republican In State To Explicitly Call For Medicaid Expansion
The Hill: Va. Republican Opens Door To Medicaid Expansion
A legislator from a rural district in Virginia on Thursday became the first Republican in the state to explicitly call for Medicaid expansion under ObamaCare. The support of Del. Terry Kilgore (R-Scott), chairman of the House Commerce and Labor Committee, boosts the chances that Virginia could become the latest state to accept federal money to expand Medicaid coverage. (Weixel, 2/15)
The Associated Press: Key GOP Lawmaker Backs Medicaid Expansion In Virginia
Kilgore said his change of heart was due partly to President Donald Trump's embrace of work requirements for low-income people on Medicaid. The Trump administration recently announced that it will approve state proposals requiring "able-bodied adults" to work, study, or perform some kind of service. The move has helped prompt lawmakers in other conservative states to resurrect expansion plans and has already been approved in Kentucky. (Suderman, 2/15)
The Washington Post: Rural Legislator From Southwest Va. Breaks The ‘Republican Dam’ For Medicaid Expansion
“For my district, for my part of the state, it’s the right thing to do,” Kilgore said. “At the end of the day, I think you’ll see a lot of folks feeling that way.” Kilgore’s announcement came a few weeks after House Speaker M. Kirkland Cox (R-Colonial Heights) began signaling a willingness to expand Medicaid if work requirements could be imposed on able-bodied recipients. Cox’s party nearly lost control of the chamber in the November elections in an anti-Trump wave, with many Democrats running on the issue of health care. (Vozzella, 2/15)
