Loudoun County area hospitals have joined a statewide lobbying effort launched by the hospital industry to urge the Virginia General Assembly to expand Medicaid eligibility in Virginia. The hospitals face an uphill battle trying to persuade local lawmakers, nearly all of whom are Republicans. GOP members in the General Assembly have generally resisted the expansion of Medicaid eligibility in Virginia, citing problems with the program and potential long-term costs to Virginia taxpayers. Hospital representatives say that expanding Medicaid would help them provide better care to low-income patients and allow hospitals to offset millions of dollars in Medicare payments they lost with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
