$25M more for medical care for most vulnerable citizens
There are certain men and women who those of us in government must always remember. Our most vulnerable citizens - the poor, the sick, the elderly, the disabled - often have no other alternative than help from the government.
Thousands of needy adults and children all across Virginia depend on Medicaid for their medical care. But with the rising cost of services and the growing use of those services, the financial burden on the state has increased dramatically.
I propose we fully fund Medicaid this year. In addition, I propose $25 million to compensate the Medical College of Virginia for the care they provide patients who don’t have insurance or whose treatment isn’t covered by Medicaid.
We must leave no Virginian behind, especially the poor who can’t afford medical care.
Source: State of the Commonwealth Address to VA General Assembly
Jan 10, 2001
No federal pre-emption of employee health plan regulation.
Gilmore adopted the National Governors Association position paper:
The Issue
In 1999, 42.6 million Americans did not have health insurance. All states have been fervently working to reduce the number of uninsured Americans, to make health insurance more affordable and secure, and to provide quality health care at a reasonable cost to the uninsured. However, the federal government has also expressed an interest in this issue. Any action taken at the federal level could have serious implications for traditional state authority to regulate the health insurance industry and protect consumers.
NGA’s Position
Although the Governors are extremely sensitive to the concerns of large multi-state employers, the fact remains that the complete federal preemption of state laws relating to employee health plans in the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) is the greatest single barrier to many state reform and patient protection initiatives.
The Governors support efforts designed to enable small employers to join together to participate more effectively in the health insurance market. In fact, Governors have taken the lead in facilitating the development of such partnerships and alliances. However, these partnerships must be carefully structured and regulated by state agencies in order to protect consumers and small businesses from fraud and abuse and underinsurance. NGA opposes attempts to expand federal authority under ERISA. The Governors have identified the prevention of such federal legislation in the 107th Congress as a top legislative priority.
States have the primary responsibility for health insurance regulation. Across the nation, Governors are working to protect consumers and patients and to properly regulate the complicated health insurance industry.
Source: National Governors Association "Issues / Positions" 01-NGA13 on Oct 5, 2001
