Last year, I spent my President’s Day leading a march on the White House alongside now-Virginia State Delegate Lee Carter, former Hillary Clinton organizers, and hundreds of people from throughout the Virginia-Maryland-D.C. area. It was by far one of the highlights of running for the House of Delegates last year, but this year will take me south instead of north.
On February 19th, I will join hundreds of Virginians from all parts of the commonwealth as they come together to be part of the People’s Caravan to Expand Medicaid. The event has been brought together over the past few weeks by a plethora of grassroots groups.
Instead of recreating the wheel, I’ll borrow the description of the caravan from the Official Website:
Cars, trucks and motorcycles will join together in caravans from the four corners of Virginia to travel planned routes through towns, villages, and rural countryside until reaching the state Capitol in Richmond. The purpose is to extend Medicaid coverage to more than 400,000 people who cannot afford healthcare.
Each route will span more than 150 miles and include stops at about a dozen places where the caravaners–grandmothers and grandfathers, children, and concerned citizens of every stripe–will gather with people waiting to greet them and announce the need for healthcare coverage for all.
The Caravan will collect messages from citizens to our lawmakers. Leave a message here on this online form. Or help collect them through message boxes.
The caravan will culminate in a rally at the Bell Tower on Capitol Square in Richmond at 3pm.
Up until this year, the Republican-dominated House of Delegates and State Senate have stonewalled all attempts to expand Medicaid, which would allow the state to cover more than 400,000 vulnerable Virginians who currently cannot afford or access healthcare coverage. Even with all of the uncertainty in Washington, expanding Medicaid under current ACA guidelines would also begin bringing billions of taxpayer dollars back to Virginia, which could be used not only to shore up our healthcare system, but also invest in education, infrastructure, and workforce development in many parts of the commonwealth.
After their massive losses here last year, the Republican party of Virginia is finally signalling a willingness to expand Medicaid, but with strings attached — they want work requirements (despite the fact that close to 80% of Medicaid recipients cannot work) and other restrictions that would water down the program and fail to provide much needed relief to disabled and low income Virginians. We need to keep up the pressure, though!
Every day that goes by without Medicaid expansion, thousands of Virginians have to make the choice between feeding their families or paying for the medical bills. Many often have to choose between financial ruination or death. It’s time to put an end to these atrocious (and unnecessary) dilemmas, and brought medicaid expansion to Virginia.
Please spread the word!