U.S. Sen. Mark Warner said this week the closure of three healthcare facilities in the Shenandoah Valley are a sign of worse to come across rural Virginia.
Last week, Augusta Health announced the closure of facilities is Buena Vista, Churchville and Weyer’s Cave, citing physician shortages and the Republican budget package that President Trump signed into law in early July. The package includes anticipated cuts to Medicaid and subsidies to help people pay for insurance under the Affordable Care Act.
Warner said more than half a million Virginians will lose their coverage, while others will see their premiums go up. Even before those cuts take effect, marketplace premiums are already set to increase 20 to 40 percent next month, he said.
"An average 60-year-old couple in the Roanoke Valley making about 80 grand will see their prices go up by $800 or $900 a month," Warner said.
Warner said healthcare providers have asked him for help, but need to be willing to speak out publicly.
"I just hope the hospital systems who are complaining to me and trying to see if we can get these cuts reversed are also willing to be public about that and transparent with their patient base that these cuts are coming," Warner said, "and they're going to hurt across the board, and they are going to be disproportionately hitting rural hospitals."
Warner said his office continues to meet with officials from Carilion Clinic, Ballad Health, and other providers in the region as they try to determine what the pending cuts mean for the long-term.
