Cuccinelli: No Medicaid Expansion in Virginia if Elected

Lorton Patch Local Editor James Cullum reported and wrote the following article.

Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia's Republican candidate for Governor, does not want Medicaid Expansion for the Commonwealth. 

"Absent dramatic reform, I wouldn't expect to see that in Virginia," said Cuccinelli after speaking to residents of the Greenspring Retirement Community in Springfield on Tuesday, July 2.
 Cuccinelli's comments come not long after New Jersey's Republican Gov. Chris Christie vetoed his state's Medicaid expansion bill. At home in Virginia, the expansion, which is part of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, is currently being evaluated by a panel of 10 Virginia legislators. 

"I'm certainly not going to say that we would never do it, but given the reluctance of this administration to give dramatic control of our own Medicaid program - that's not something I would anticipate doing and I have yet to hear from my opponent how he plans to pay for that, because we do have costs associated with that in the state if we go ahead and do it," said Cuccinelli. "It's got to come from somewhere. We don't print money here in Virginia."

Tell us what you think in the comments. Should Virginia expand Medicaid? 

Cuccinelli has been attorney general of Virginia since 2010. He was a state senator representing the 37th District in Fairfax County, from 2002-2010.

Terry McAuliffe, Cuccinelli's Democratic opponent, pledged that, if elected, he would accept Federal Medicaid expansion in Virginia. 

"My opponent is 100 precent against it. I am 100 percent for it. Beginning in January, we can cover 400,000 more Virginians with access to quality, life-saving care," said McAuliffe, former chair of the Democratic National Committee, in May. 

"It's paid for by the federal government for the first three years - 100 percent; 90 percent every year thereafter for 10 years. It will create, with $21 billion coming into our economy over the next seven years… (and add) 33,000 new jobs here in Virginia," said McAuliffe.