On May 30, Virginia expanded Medicaid! Virginia Organizing members have worked to bring affordable health care to all Virginians for more than 10 years. Let’s celebrate this victory!
Medicaid expansion will open up health care access to hundreds of thousands of Virginians who can’t afford insurance. It will help people with serious medical problems get treatment right away. People who have had to rely on emergency rooms or once-a-year health care wagons will be able to get primary care.
Thank you all for your years of hard work. The letter writing, the rallies, the forums, the thousands of calls to legislators…they finally led to victory.
Four Republican members of the Senate voted for the measure. Three of them represent districts with Virginia Organizing chapters.
Senator Emmett Hanger led the effort to find a bipartisan solution. Our Staunton/Augusta/Waynesboro Chapter has been meeting with him to discuss Medicaid expansion for years.
Organizing matters. It educates people and it builds our power. Making sure everyone can vote matters. Organizing brings about change.
We would also like to thank the members of the Healthcare for All Virginians coalition. These partners have been essential:
- Virginia Poverty Law Center
- Commonwealth Institute
- Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy
- Planned Parenthood
- Indivisible
- New Virginia Majority
- ProgressVA
- AARP
- SEIU Virginia 512
Our work is not done. The work requirements in the law may keep people with disabilities and serious illnesses from getting access to health care. It doesn’t make sense to add an unnecessary new layer of bureaucracy to health care funding. We still want affordable health care for everyone, and we won’t give up until we get it.
But today we can celebrate and thank our representatives. If your delegate or senator voted for Medicaid expansion, please write or call to thank them. We can all thank Governor Ralph Northam for supporting this effort all along.
Del McWhorter
Chairperson
