Warner & Kaine: New Report Shows Over 302,000 Virginians Will Lose Health Insurance Under GOP Tax Plan
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) issued the following statement after a new Joint Economic Committee (JEC) report found that an estimated 302,608 Virginians would lose their health insurance under President Trump and Republicans’ tax plan:
“This new report estimates that the Trump tax plan would cause over 302,000 Virginians, including low-income children and people with disabilities, to lose their health insurance—all to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. That’s over 302,000 Virginians who will be forced to forgo a trip to the doctor’s office or get the critical medication they need. These cuts will have long-term, negative consequences for the health and wellbeing of our communities and our already overburdened health care system. We are committed to doing everything we can to stop this bill that will do real harm to communities across Virginia and the country.”
According to the JEC, an estimated 136,583 Virginians would lose coverage under the Affordable Care Act, and 166,025 Virginians would lose coverage under Medicaid. This JEC report is based off of the latest numbers available, including from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office’s recent analysis of the Republican tax bill.
Warner and Kaine have been sounding the alarm about the effects of the GOP plan on Virginia families if Republicans in Congress continue to insist on gutting vital programs in order to pay for tax breaks for the richest Americans. The senators have noted that the GOP bill would cut SNAP benefits for more than 204,000 people in Virginia, raise energy costs for Virginia households, and jeopardize more than 20,000 Virginia jobs. The bill would also explode the deficit, eliminate a program allowing Americans to file federal taxes for free, raise taxes on minimum-wage workers while giving the richest 0.1% a $188,000 tax cut, eliminate gun safety measures, and make it harder for federal judges to hold government officials accountable when they act lawlessly.
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