Access to health care is emerging as a focus for Democrats seeking to unseat Republican members of Congress this year.
A quarter of a million people in Virginia will end up losing their health care as the result of Republican cuts to Medicaid. That’s according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Rodrigo Soto at the Commonwealth Institute says the federal government is prioritizing the wealthy and well-connected over low and moderate income people.
"This massive health care cut was passed by Congressional Republicans in order to fund massive tax handouts to the ultra-wealthy," Soto says. "So, while 260,000 of our community members lose their health care coverage, the top one percent in Virginia are expected to get an average tax cut of nearly $80,000."
That's because of HR1, which Republicans call the "One Big, Beautiful Bill." Speaker of the Virginia House Don Scott calls it the "Big BS Bill," and he doesn't say BS…
"The people who made these decisions, they need to be held accountable," Scott says. "Jen Kiggans, [John] McGuire, they need to be held accountable for every hospital that closes, every family that loses coverage, and every Virginian forced to pay the price for their recklessness."
Republican Congresswoman Jen Kiggans of Virginia Beach is in the most competitive race in Virginia, and Republican Congressman John McGuire of Goochland is in a seat the UVA Center for Politics rates as "likely Republican."
