What: Media conference about the 53rd anniversary of Medicaid and Medicare and proposed budget cuts

When: Wednesday, August 1 at 5 p.m.

Where:  The Addiction Education Center office, 204 Constitution Road, Pennington Gap, Va.

Pennington Gap, Va.—The Lee County Chapter of Virginia Organizing will hold a media conference on the night of August 1 at 5 p.m. at the Addiction Education Center in Pennington Gap to celebrate the 53rd anniversary of Medicaid and Medicare and protest proposed federal budget cuts to these vital programs.

The tax plan that became law in December added nearly $2 trillion to the national debt. To make up the difference, President Donald Trump and Congressional leaders have targeted Medicare and Medicaid, along with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), for steep cuts. If adopted, these cuts will take health care away from millions of seniors, children, veterans, and people with disabilities.

“For 53 years, Medicaid and Medicare have given coverage for vital health care services for millions of Americans, including more than 2 million elderly, disabled and low-income people today in Virginia,” said Sister Beth Davies, a Virginia Organizing leader and Lee County health care advocate.

Sister Beth went on to say, “We hope Representative Morgan Griffith will realize that all of our area hospitals and other health care facilities depend on funds from these programs to stay open.”

Griffith voted in favor of the tax plan last December, and he voted in favor of repealing the Affordable Care Act last year.

These cuts are already raising premiums and out-of-pocket costs under the Affordable Care Act and causing millions to lose their health care. Additional proposed cuts to Medicaid and Medicare and repeal of the ACA could make life-saving medicines costlier for seniors and families, eliminate key protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and roll back Medicaid expansion, which Virginia only adopted this year and which could provide coverage for 400,000 people in the Commonwealth.

To interview a spokesperson for this event, please contact Brian Johns at 434-984-4655 ext. 227 or bjohns@virginia-organizing.org.