Medicaid Expansion : Virginia

Culpeper Star Exponent

Business Monday

Jim Charapich

March 3, 2014

Medicaid Expansion : Virginia - “The Virginia Chamber of Commerce, joined by business leaders and Chambers of Commerce from across the Commonwealth, endorsed a private option approach and released a series of principles to address Medicaid in Virginia. These free-market based principles highlight eleven reforms that businesses are urging the General Assembly to consider as they work to address Medicaid expansion in Virginia.” Virginia Chamber of Commerce press release February 24, 2014. Among the Chambers to support the Virginia Chamber private option approach is the Culpeper Chamber of Commerce.

In addition, the press release included the following highlights of the free-market based reforms that businesses are urging the General Assembly to consider:

·  Total privatization of Medicaid expansion in VA

·  Requirement that the Commonwealth achieve sufficient savings to offset the state’s share of contributions for the private option;

·  Requirement that enrollees must be employed or actively seeking employment;

·  Encourage a market-oriented approach for new enrollees to control their use of health care services and maintain healthy behaviors, including cost sharing;

·  Financial incentives to encourage healthy behaviors, including health savings accounts;

·  Require an audit of the Medicaid program and a renewal of the private option plan every 4

years;

·  Language that the private option plan would terminate if the federal government fails to meet their financial obligations under the ACA;

·  Support wellness and preventative services;

·  Require annual performance reviews;

·  Expand fraud and abuse prevention measures to control costs.

The General Assembly has one more week to address one of the most significant issues of this session. The VA Chamber press release included figures that are staggering to consider. “Over the next 8 years, Virginia businesses will incur $16.4 billion in ACA-related taxes to pay for federal health care reform. A private option plan will allow Virginia to take control of $15 billion of its federal tax dollars and put them to work for Virginia businesses, taxpayers and communities.” Gary Thomson, Regional Managing Partner with Dixon Hughes Goodman and Chairman of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.

Our proximity to Washington is no reason to import Washington partisan gridlock to Virginia.  We have an opportunity to repatriate an estimated $5,000,000 per day from Washington and put it to work for Virginia. The General Assembly Session ends on March 8th. This is the time to contact your Senator and Delegate and urge them to approve a budget that includes our ACA tax dollars that are docked in Washington. Why throw them overboard when we can find safe harbor for them in Virginia.