Richmond, Va.—Virginia Organizing joined hundreds of community groups around the country today in a national day of action to protect health care funding. Health Care for America Now (HCAN) called for the action to educate communities about the proposed House budget that cuts $1.5 trillion from health care, especially Medicaid, while at the same time giving massive tax breaks to the rich and corporations.
“We have all given many years of effort to protecting the American health care system,” said Karen Kallay, a member of Virginia Organizing’s statewide Health Care Reform Committee.
“Thanks to those efforts, Congress was unable to repeal the Affordable Care Act or pass a terribly reduced replacement. Unfortunately, the fight isn’t over. Before Congress adjourned for the August recess, the House Budget Committee passed a resolution that would cut health care funding by $1.5 trillion in order to give tax breaks to millionaires and corporations. They didn’t succeed in repealing the Affordable Care Act, so they plan to destroy it by cutting funding for it,” Kallay said.
“This budget would cut $487 billion from Medicare and privatize the program through vouchers,” said Winston Whitehurst, a retired educator from Norfolk. “Seniors depend on Medicare and Medicaid. These programs have provided the elderly with reliable and affordable support for their health and quality of life for more than 50 years.”
“In our state, CHIP (the Children’s Health Insurance Program) and Medicaid provide health coverage for 25 percent of our children,” said Del McWhorter, Virginia Organizing Chairperson. “These are children whose parents don’t qualify for Medicaid but can’t afford insurance. President Donald Trump has called for a 20 percent reduction in this program. That means more than 865,000 children in Virginia alone could lose vital services! This is not the way to create better health care for all Americans.”
Virginia Organizing is a non-partisan statewide grassroots organization that brings people together to create a more just Virginia.
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