U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, who represents the 8th District of Virginia that includes the City of Falls Church, today issued the following statement on the Virginia Senate’s passage of budget measures which would expand Medicaid in the Commonwealth of Virginia:

“Today the Virginia Senate took a historic and long-overdue step towards giving hundreds of thousands of Virginians access to affordable health care.  While I strongly oppose the work requirement portions of this legislation, which will prevent Virginians from getting coverage, the full effect of these bills will bring health insurance and financial security to so many Virginia families who lack them. I applaud this bipartisan move forward, which was delayed for far too long, and hope that the House will pass Medicaid expansion with all possible haste.

“Virginia stands today as a contrast to Republican leaders in Washington who have spent over a year driving up healthcare costs and trying to deprive millions of Americans of their coverage. President Trump and his allies in Congress should abandon their sabotage, follow Virginia’s lead, and prioritize giving people access to affordable health care.”

The measures to expand Medicaid in Virginia passed narrowly in the Senate, with several Republicans and all Democrats voting in favor. The legislation will return to the House for final passage, following which it will go to Governor Ralph Northam for signature.

Medicaid expansion will expand health coverage under the Affordable Care Act to include an estimated 400,000 low income Virginians who currently lack health insurance, thousands of whom live in Northern Virginia. A measure to expand Medicaid was proposed by Governor Terry McAuliffe in 2014 and repeatedly thereafter, but was never adopted by the General Assembly.