Health Care

When I was sworn in on Jan. 10, 2018, I was uninsured. It would be another three weeks before I had quality, affordable health insurance for the first time in 2.5 years. I worried then, and I worry now, about the hundreds of thousands of Virginians who are uninsured or underinsured. Everyone deserves the healthcare they need.

That’s why on May 30, 2018, I kept my 2017 campaign promise to expand Medicaid. As of June 1, 2022, we’ve now enrolled more than 663,000 Virginians — including more than 33,000 greater Prince William residents.

I also voted to bring down premiums by creating a reinsurance program and to reduce administrative costs — with savings passed on to Virginians — by having Virginia create its own health insurance exchange. I voted to include adult dental benefits in Medicaid and to eliminate all age restrictions on health care needs for autistic Virginians.

Meanwhile, after a five-year-long fight, we finally passed my bill in 2022 to require state-regulated health plans offered by large-group employers to cover state-of-the-art prosthetic devices for amputees and people in the limb loss community.

Also, in 2020, we passed my bill to end discrimination against transgender Virginians in health insurance so we have the same care for the same health issues as everyone else as well as the issues specific to our community. That bill was one of about two dozen we passed to take care of LGBTQ Virginians from 2020-2021 as we’ve made Virginia a nationwide leader in equality.

Likewise, I’ll push back against legislative attempts to interfere with you or your family having your health care needs covered and accessible, including ensuring your reproductive freedom, whether it’s transition-related care, IVF care or access to safe, legal abortion in line with legislation we passed into law 2020-2021 and retained during the 2022 legislative session.

At the same time, there is so much work that remains to be done, not just to ensure more Virginians have health insurance coverage but to make sure every Virginian is treated fairly under the law. While we’ve made significant progress in mental health reform — including passing a bill I signed on to as a chief co-patron in 2022 to help prevent veteran suicides — we still have much work remaining to implement all of the recommendations of the Deeds commission, and to make sure that the same day someone needs help, they’re able to get it, no matter which part of the commonwealth they call home. I also strongly support a state-run public option for Medicaid (or a substantially similar program) in order to close the uninsured/underinsured gap and put pressure on private health insurers to lower their premiums.

In short, my legislative record on health care is one of dramatically increased enrollment in quality, affordable health insurance, where your doctors’ prescriptions and treatments are actually covered by your health insurance without you having to decide which bills to skip in order to afford it. That includes protections for pre-existing conditions. Likewise, I’ll continue to fight policies designed to undercut the Affordable Care Act in Virginia and make sure that when you need to see your doctor, you can. Period.