Health Care
Critical Care, Critical Contributions
Ongoing deliberation in Virginia about the need to expand Medicaid coverage, opportunities to leverage provider assessments to support health care access, and policies to revamp the certificate of public need process in the commonwealth all draw attention to the health care sector’s pivotal role in our economy.
Two Steps Back, One Step Forward: Low-income Virginia workers still unlikely to be offered insurance through their workplace
After several years of decline, Virginia (and the United States as a whole) are finally starting to see an uptick in the share of working-age adults covered through employer-sponsored insurance. This encouraging trend may be explained in part by the implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate. Under the mandate, more firms in 2015 were required to offer insurance to their employees or pay a fine. From 2014 to 2015, 37,000 Virginians gained coverage through increased use of employer-sponsored insurance.
Virginia’s Failure to Close the Coverage Gap Shows up in Census Data
Today’s Census data on the number of Virginians who remain without any health insurance are a stark reminder of the costs of failing to close the coverage gap. Closing this gap would be good for all of us.
How More Virginia Women Could be Treated for Maternal Depression
Virginia lawmakers have the opportunity to help economically challenged, uninsured moms and their children get the care they need to be healthy and productive. The well-being of all women and children is too important to ignore.
Virginia Has Another Chance to Get It Right on Health Coverage
Virginia residents may face another round of cuts to vital services because state revenues are coming in lower than expected. And, once again, a common sense solution to saving the state money and boosting Virginia’s economy is staring right at lawmakers: closing the health care coverage gap. Closing the gap could inject roughly $2 billion in federal money per year into Virginia, help as many as 400,000 low-paid Virginians get the medical care they need to be healthy and productive, and protect vital services from cuts by saving the state hundreds of millions of dollars.
Let’s Put Out the ‘Welcome Mat’ So More Virginia Kids Get Health Insurance
More than 20,000 kids in Virginia may lack health insurance because lawmakers have refused to close the health care coverage gap for their parents. That’s because allowing more low-income adults to get health insurance also helps connect more low-income children with the coverage they’re already eligible for.
We’re in This Together
African-American and immigrant communities in Virginia share many challenges, and there are critical policy solutions that could improve the lives of both immigrant and African-American Virginians. This report explores some of these challenges and solutions, focusing on residential segregation, schools that too often fail to meet the needs of all students, employment challenges for adults without high school diplomas, low wages for many workers, lack of health insurance and culturally competent health care, significant caretaking responsibilities without the benefit of paid sick leave and family leave, and harsher punishment in the criminal justice system.
Medicaid Reduces Financial Stress
Closing the coverage gap in Virginia would help 400,000 people get quality, affordable health care. And, as this growing body of research shows, it would also protect them from financial ruin for reasons often beyond their control: illness and injury.
Mental Health Coverage Gap Remains Despite Lawmakers’ Efforts, Assertions
No one suffering from a serious mental illness should be denied the care they need. Without the appropriate medications, there are men and women, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters who are left to struggle without a realistic shot at managing their disease.