2021 VA Governor's race: on Health Care
Justin Fairfax:
VA should have expanded Medicaid for 400,000 people
Fairfax believes Virginia should have expanded Medicaid to provide needed health care for some 400,000 state residents who lack insurance.
Other states that did so still have 90 percent of the costs covered by the federal government.
Source: Free Lance-Star on 2021 Virginia gubernatorial race
Oct 29, 2017
Amanda Chase:
Allow insurance across state lines; no surprise billing
Amanda introduced a healthcare cost transparency bill that would require healthcare providers to give patients an estimated cost of services prior to services being provided. She has also sponsored legislation that would allow individuals to purchase
insurance across state lines and supported several healthcare bills that would have provided business owners with group insurance as well as temporary insurance for individuals in between jobs.
Source: 2021 Virginia Governor campaign website Chase4Senate.com
Dec 13, 2020
Jennifer McClellan:
Helped expand Medicaid coverage to over 400,000 Virginians
She led the fight to create a Virginia Health Benefit Exchange when the Affordable Care Act first passed and finally achieved success this year. She fought to expand Medicaid coverage to over 400,000 Virginians; she fought to expand access
to and lower the cost of prescription drugs; and she has fought to expand access to preventative, reproductive, behavioral, and long-term care for all Virginians and to make the system easier to understand and navigate.
Source: 2021 Virginia governor campaign website JennMcClellanVA.com
Feb 18, 2021
Kirk Cox:
Raised over $2 million for breast cancer awareness
Kirk has been a leading advocate for breast cancer awareness and research, creating the Virginia Breast Cancer Pink Ribbon license plate that has raised over
$2 million for breast cancer awareness. As Speaker, Kirk also implemented a paid family leave policy for House of Delegates employees.
Source: 2021 Virginia governor campaign website KirkCox.com
Feb 19, 2021
Terry McAuliffe:
Bring PPE & pharmaceutical manufacturing to Virginia
Cut down on costs and supply-chain issues by bringing PPE and pharmaceutical manufacturing to Virginia. We must leverage our capabilities and bring PPE and other life science manufacturing to Virginia. PPE will remain an ongoing need for the healthcare
industry in a post-COVID world, as will affordable medications for Virginians. Terry recognizes how critical it is to bring pharmaceutical manufacturing to Virginia to cut down on costs of expensive prescription drugs.
Terry is extremely proud that we finally expanded Medicaid for hundreds of thousands of Virginians. Terry will propose solutions to make sure every Virginian has access to quality, affordable health care. That means expanding coverage
and lowering premiums by working closely with the federal government to create a reinsurance program, increasing subsidies to help families pay for their health care premiums and working to lower the cost of prescription drugs.
Source: 2021 Virginia governor campaign website Terry McAuliffe.com
Dec 22, 2020
Mark Herring:
No more political games with preexisting conditions
For years, Republicans have played political games with the lives of millions of Virginians, especially those with preexisting conditions, forcing them to live in constant fear that their healthcare could be ripped away from them at any moment.
We find ourselves in a public health crisis and any disruption to our healthcare system now would be absolutely catastrophic. I have taken every opportunity to protect Virginians' access to affordable healthcare and I plan to continue that fight.
Source: A.G. press release for 2021 Virginia gubernatorial race
Mar 23, 2020
Pete Snyder:
Medicaid expansion bad for taxpayers, those pushed into it
Medicaid expansion is a ticking time bomb for Virginia taxpayers. The Heritage Foundation released a study showing that the costs to Virginia taxpayers would skyrocket by over $900 million in less than ten years, once the "free" federal money dries up.
But beyond the fiscal crisis it would create, expanding Medicaid under ObamaCare would also push hundreds of thousands of Virginians into a government-run health care program that we all know is badly broken and in need of serious reforms.
Source: BearingDrift.com on 2021 Virginia Governor race
Jan 28, 2020
Jack Ciattarelli:
OpEd: Youngkin opposed to ACA and expanding access
Glenn Youngkin has railed against Governor Northam's efforts to protect the
Affordable Care Act and expand access to health care for Virginians, making his opposition to the ACA and its critical protections clear.
Source: Blue Virginia press release:2021 Virginia Governor race
Feb 1, 2021
Jennifer Carroll Foy:
Lower prescription costs; stop pharma price gouging
[On drug cost]: "I'll never forget sitting at the table trying to decide if we were going to pay for our mortgage that month or medicine," Carroll Foy explained of caring for her quadriplegic grandmother. "I wanted to make sure that no other person had
to make this impossible decision." As governor, she plans to work to lower prescription costs, hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for price gouging and seek ways to help local governments in programs that aid their constituents.
Source: Charlottesville Tomorrow on 2021 Virginia Governor race
Feb 16, 2021
Ralph Northam:
Expand Medicare, address racial disparities of pandemic
Some of his recent actions included calling for Northam to take stricter measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 throughout Virginia in mid-March and requesting a task force to address the racial disparities of the pandemic in mid-May.
Fairfax's campaign will focus on "justice, fairness and opportunity" for all Virginians as well as on Medicaid expansion, police reform and increased education spending.
Source: Duke Chronicle on 2021 Virginia Gubernatorial race
Sep 30, 2020
Jennifer Carroll Foy:
Ensure doulas are covered by Medicaid
Carroll Foy feels strongly that her pain was dismissed because she's a Black woman. It's a well-documented phenomenon: doctors dismissing the pain of Black patients in general due to racial biases.
Black women are 243% more likely to die in childbirth or from pregnancy-related conditions than white women. She wants to ensure doulas are covered by Medicaid, so low-income black mothers will always have someone advocating for them.
[Definition of "doula " from DONA.org, downloaded Feb. 2021]: A doula is a trained professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to a mother before,
during and shortly after childbirth to help her achieve the healthiest, most satisfying experience possible.
Source: Elle Magazine on 2021 Virginia gubernatorial race
Feb 16, 2021
Amanda Chase:
Has fought against Medicaid expansion in Virginia
She noted that she has fought against Medicaid expansion in Virginia. "Medicaid was designed, originally, to help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, not able-body people. It's to help people who can least help themselves," she
said. "It is a Trojan horse that Virginia is ultimately going to have to pay the price for. Currently, the federal government is footing the bill for most of it, but not for much longer. And Virginians are going to have to pick the tab up."
Source: Smith Mountain Eagle on 2021 Virginia Gubernatorial race
Nov 25, 2020
Glenn Youngkin:
A "sad thing" that Medicaid was expanded under Obamacare
At times, though, he's unequivocal. Youngkin said earlier this year it was "a sad thing" that
Medicaid was expanded in Virginia under the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare.
Source: Virginia Mercury on 2021 Virginia Governor race
Dec 11, 2020
Justin Fairfax:
COVID: urged bold and swift actions in response to pandemic
Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax is asking Gov. Ralph Northam to take "bolder and swifter actions" to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state. In a letter to the governor, Fairfax said Virginia should mandate closures of restaurants, bars,
theaters and gyms, close all schools for the rest of the academic year, suspend state and local tax payments for 120 days and hold a special General Assembly session within the next month to allow state legislators to adopt emergency measures.
Source: Virginia Mercury on 2021 Virginia Gubernatorial debate
Mar 19, 2020
Justin Fairfax:
Cast tiebreaking vote for Medicaid expansion
Fairfax walked a fine line between all the other candidates, both pledging to fight for Virginians and touting his ability to work with everyone in his role as president of the Senate. He said that his proudest moment was casting a tiebreaking vote for
Medicaid expansion in the Senate in 2018 and that he had been an early advocate for closing schools as the coronavirus pandemic broke last year.
Source: Washington Post on 2021 Virginia Gubernatorial debate
Apr 6, 2021
Page last updated: Feb 18, 2023