Sears Caught Lying to Virginians About Devastating Consequences of Trump’s Medicaid Cuts She Supported

Sears Caught Lying to Virginians About Devastating Consequences of Trump’s Medicaid Cuts She Supported

New reporting from the Cardinal News details how Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears’ claim that Virginia’s rainy day fund can cover for Donald Trump’s Medicaid cuts that she supported is deeply flawed.

Virginia’s rainy day fund is more than twenty billion dollars short of the “$29 billion decrease in federal Medicaid spending” that the state is set to incur. Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have argued against Sears’ half-baked plan, detailing how the Medicaid cuts she cheered on are disastrous for Virginia — ripping health care coverage away from nearly 323,000 people, threatening rural hospitals, and killing jobs:

• Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville: “I don’t think it’s a good idea to consider its use long term to make up for the loss of federal Medicaid dollars.”

• Del. Terry Austin, R-Botetourt County: “The idea of using Virginia’s rainy-day fund to cover potential Medicaid shortfalls … is probably not the best path forward.”

• Del. William Morefield, R-Tazewell County: “Medicaid is vitally important in rural areas. Rural hospitals rely heavily on Medicaid to operate. The closing of a rural hospital would be devastating to a local community as we have already experienced in Southwest Virginia. It severely impairs a locality’s ability to attract, recruit, and retain businesses and new residents.”

Sears’ campaign “did not respond Monday when asked if the lieutenant governor maintained the position that using the state’s rainy day fund to cover Medicaid funding shortfalls was the campaign’s current policy platform, or if her stance had changed since the passage of the bill.”

“Winsome Sears cheered on Donald Trump’s Medicaid cuts and is now lying to Virginians about the devastating consequences,” said DGA Communications Director Sam Newton. “When health care, rural hospitals, and jobs are on the chopping block, Sears has proven she will always put her partisan agenda over what’s right for Virginia.”

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