What: Rally in support of Medicaid Expansion
When: Monday, February 19, 12:45 to 1:15 p.m.
Where: The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fredericksburg, 25 Chalice Circle, Fredericksburg, Va 22405
Fredericksburg, Va.- Local residents of the Fredericksburg Chapter of Virginia Organizing and members of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fredericksburg will greet a caravan of different community grassroots groups coming from all around Northern Virginia to hold a local Fredericksburg rally. Participants will caravan in cars, trucks and motorcycles as part of the People’s Caravan for Medicaid Expansion to call for the Commonwealth to close the coverage gap for 400,000 Virginians without health insurance. Fredericksburg is the final stop before the caravan heads down to Richmond to rally at the General Assembly.
On February 18, known in Richmond as “Budget Sunday,” the House of Delegates and Senate will release their respective budgets. Community groups and leaders want local legislators to fight for Medicaid expansion in this year’s budget process. This collaboration is the final of 9 latest actions that Virginia Organizing has held across the state in order to call attention to medicaid expansion.
Medicaid expansion will add about 30,000 well-paying healthcare jobs to Virginia’s economy and provide care coverage to 240,000 people. Some of those people include parents of children who are already covered by Medicaid, people with disabilities, and people who work in low-wage jobs. Expanding Medicaid costs the state of Virginia less over the next two years than if we choose not to expand. It will add millions of dollars to our economy.
“We see this caravan as an opportunity for ordinary citizens to make their voices heard and to put pressure on lawmakers to do the right thing,” says David Pratt, co-leader of Indivisible Winchester, a grassroots group in the northwestern part of the state.
Reverend Doug McCusker, Minister of Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fredericksburg, says,”Ensuring affordable health care for everyone is an issue where moral and civic duties coincide. How can we in good conscience use our tax dollars to pave roads and subsidize businesses without making sure that no one dies simply because they are unable to see a doctor?”
Groups involved in the caravan include Indivisible Winchester, Loudoun, Fauquier and NoVa West, Indivisible 757, We of Action Virginia, and Stafford Indivisible Community Action Network.
