Blog

Republicans Are Hurting the ACA, and All of Us

October 16, 2017 by David Toscano

Republicans’ Insidious Undermining of the Affordable Care Act

Newly-elected Donald Trump asserted that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would be repealed on day one of his administration. Ten months and numerous close votes later, the ACA remains the law of the land. Nonetheless, the Trump administration and its Republican allies in Congress have been relentless in their efforts to destroy the Act from within, and all of us who support health insurance access at reasonable cost cannot let them go unchallenged. Their strategy is sophisticated and multifaceted. And Republicans in Washington and in Virginia have been complicit with this strategy by their deafening silence.

If You Can’t Win The Votes, Sabotage the Market

Trump’s consistent threat to withhold the subsidies (CSRs) which allow insurance companies to keep premium increases to a minimum became reality last week with his Executive Order. The result should surprise no one; faced with unpredictable markets and increasing costs, health insurance companies will either abandon offering coverage or increase premiums to cover their risk. The no-subsidy threat alone has had serious effects. In Virginia, for example, Anthem pulled out of the marketplace in August, leaving more than 60 jurisdictions with no insurer offering coverage. It was only after intense political pressure from Gov. McAuliffe and others that Anthem jumped back in, but premiums are expected to rise. Now that the administration is definitely reneging on federal payments, the reality will be devastating. Some 240,000 Virginians bought health insurance supported by ACA-mandated subsidies; their costs will rise and some will simply not re-enroll, thereby creating a so-called “death spiral” in the markets. [Read more…]

Refocusing After August 12

September 19, 2017 by David Toscano

Our community is still grieving and many questions remain unanswered, including one major one—will we find a way to heal and rekindle a semblance of civility and mutual respect which many of us believe is critically important to making this a better place?

Events like the “Unite the Right” rally prompt many of us in elected office to dig deeper in advocating for the values that our constituents feel are important. Among those are access to health care, affordable housing, investments in children, and tolerance and diversity. Some in this country would use the issue of monuments to divide us; there are other issues, however, that we neglect at our peril.

Republicans Continued Assault On Health Care

We thought we dodged a bullet at the end of July as the Senate rejected repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but repeal is now again on the agenda in the form of the proposed Graham-Cassidy bill. Like previous approaches, this proposal would seriously affect Virginia by reducing insurance options and by “block-granting” Medicaid funding. Virginia is one of the most frugal states in terms of its Medicaid funding; block-granting federal reimbursements (now 50% of the program) would put great pressure on our budget. This bill may even be worse than previous repeal measures, but few know its precise costs and impacts since the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) will not have time to project them before a vote. For that reason, every single member of the Virginia delegation and every single Delegate and State Senator should oppose this. As expected, Republicans have either embraced this new proposal or have remained silent. Please write your Congressperson, Senator, Delegate, and candidates for statewide office asking them to speak out. Post on social media. Write to the newspaper. We only have a few days to stop this ideological crusade to remove healthcare coverage from millions. [Read more…]

Leadership in the Time of Trump, Turmoil and Tragedy

August 17, 2017 by David Toscano

On Wednesday night, thousands gathered with candles in hand for a peaceful and uplifting procession and vigil on U.Va.’s historic Lawn, to symbolically “take back” our university from the torch-carrying Neo-Nazis who invaded Thomas Jefferson’s space one week ago. Eight hours earlier, as many as 1,000 people squeezed into the historic Paramount Theatre in downtown Charlottesville to honor and celebrate Heather Heyer. Friday and Saturday, thousands more will gather to recognize and mourn two state troopers who died doing their jobs protecting the citizens of the Commonwealth.

The assault on American values embodied in the reprehensible “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville last weekend demands that we take stock not only of what it means to be an American, but also about what constitutes leadership in this country. White supremacists and nationalists descended on our progressive town from across the country, some with red “Make America Great” hats, many with helmets, batons, or shields, and more than a few in camouflage with guns and rifles. Their common denominator was hate for those who do not look like them, think like them, or worship like them.

They thought they could intimidate us, and other Americans in the process. They were wrong. They came to weaken us. They did not. And, with one cowardly act by a Ohio man using his car as a weapon of terror, they inflamed a nation that has grown all-too-accustomed to the rhetoric of hate and division. Their attacks left our city deeply shaken, but also strengthened and emboldened to confront the forces of evil and hate they represent. [Read more…]

A Local Action; A National Moment

August 8, 2017 by David Toscano

This Saturday, members of the so-called “Alt Right” will descend on Charlottesville to bring attention to their vision of white nationalism, racism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and supposed cultural superiority. Though there has been inflammatory rhetoric on social media, few know exactly how many will actually appear or how they plan to behave. But one thing is clear—the nation will be watching us, and our responsibility to speak truth and love to their messages of hate and division is stronger than ever before. That means so many things. It means nonviolence if confronted with violence or efforts to incite violence. It means respect for police who are just trying to do their jobs and protect citizens exercising their rights. It means unity in the face of division. It means confronting, in a pastoral way, those whose views differ from ours and who would impose their values and worldview on us. And it means joining and supporting our friends and neighbors in a disciplined, respectful, nonviolent response. [Read more…]

Independence Day—Charlottesville’s Test and Challenge

July 4, 2017 by David Toscano

Every July 4, my family and I attend the naturalization ceremony at Monticello. It’s among the most inspiring events of the year, as new citizens from a wide variety of nations and cultures take their oaths to become Americans, and commit to protect this nation from all foes, whether foreign or domestic. It is a day that we take stock of our values—freedom, equality, diversity, inclusiveness, opportunity—and what makes us a special nation that serves as a beacon of hope across this globe.

Juxtapose this against the challenge we face as a community in the coming weeks, as hate groups hope to stamp a negative imprint on the city that we love. It is a serious challenge, though not as serious as those our forebearers faced when they created a new nation, or President Lincoln when he fought to save the Union, or Dr. King when he marshaled an army of nonviolent activists in the service of equality and opportunity. But it is a challenge nonetheless to who we are today as a community, and how we will present ourselves—both to those who seek to provoke and to those in the outside world simply looking for yet another example of the chaos, discord, and thoughtlessness in a country seemingly engulfed by it. [Read more…]