MICHAEL FELBERBAUM
AP Business Writer
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — With an expansion of Medicaid in Virginia all but pronounced dead, the state’s hospitals and health care systems are bracing for tough decisions on how to balance their budgets.
State lawmakers are holding a special legislative session on the topic starting Thursday, but there’s been no sign that Republican opposition to Medicaid expansion has wavered.
And Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe has conceded that he lacks the executive power to expand the federally funded program on his own.
Not adding 400,000 low-income adults to the rank of Virginia’s insured has left the health care industry with some painful decisions that they say could have lasting impacts on the communities they serve.
Others say expanding Medicaid is too big a risk for taxpayers and that, overall, Virginia’s hospitals are financially healthy.
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