My patients fall in the Virginia Medicaid coverage gap. Here’s what that looks like.

by Wendy S. Klein, MD, MACP, Medical Director, Health Brigade (formerly Fan Free Clinic)

Providing healthcare to nearly 400,000 Virginians through Medicaid expansion is not just a moral imperative, it is a public health necessity.

I don’t say that lightly — as a doctor, I’ve devoted my long career to improving women’s health and the health of the Commonwealth, first at the Medical College of Virginia, now VCU Health Systems, and now at Health Brigade, formerly known as Fan Free Clinic — the oldest free clinic in Virginia.

Health Brigade is one of many safety net free clinics throughout Virginia that serves those who are 200% or below the federal poverty level and are uninsured. Safety net free clinics are a great resource in our state, but can only serve a third of the estimated 500,000 uninsured Virginians eligible for free clinic services.

Every single day, patients who fall within the healthcare coverage gap walk into Health Brigade where I serve as Medical Director. Our patients come from all walks of life, often working two or more jobs, battling chronic illness, caretaking others, and trying to make ends meet. They have the same hopes and aspirations for themselves and their families we all have — to be healthy, economically self-sufficient, productive and happy.

Unfortunately, preventive medical care is beyond the reach of the hundreds of thousands of Virginians such as ours who do not have access to affordable health insurance. They struggle to stretch their money, frequently needing to choose food and shelter over basic medical care. They come to our clinic with serious health issues and complications that could have been avoided or mitigated if treatment hadn’t been delayed. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes cause 7 of every 10 deaths nationwide each year and usurp nearly 75% of the nation’s health spending. Early detection and appropriate intervention can save lives and, when it comes down to it, costs. We ALL pay the price when members of our community can’t afford healthcare.

While Virginians suffer under impossible healthcare burdens, Virginia legislators have spent years digging in their heels along party lines to reject $142 million in federal funding PER MONTH that could provide affordable, preventative healthcare for these patients. And that’s money we’ve already paid in taxes! That’s right — since 2014, the federal government has taken more than $10 billion of our hard-earned tax dollars to pay for health coverage in other states. And as long as Virginia legislators fail to pass Medicaid expansion, our money will continue to fund coverage in other states — not Virginia!

That just doesn’t seem right to me, and it’s a bitter pill to swallow for the patients who walk through Health Brigade’s clinic doors looking for basic healthcare, dignity, and relief.

Medical professionals and the citizens of Virginia overwhelmingly cited healthcare as their top voting issue in last November’s elections, with 83% of Virginians — Republicans, Democrats, and everyone in between — supporting Medicaid expansion.

This week, legislators in Richmond have the opportunity to provide affordable healthcare for 400,000 Virginians and deliver a win for their districts. I am profoundly grateful to the 20 House Republicans who showed leadership and compassion and who chose people over party when they broke ranks to show bipartisanship in passing Medicaid expansion this past session, but we’ve still got a fight on our hands in the Senate.

Our legislators return to Richmond on April 11th to vote on a budget that includes Medicaid expansion. It is time to bring affordable healthcare to struggling Virginians.Virginians shouldn’t be forced to choose between feeding our kids, having a place to live, or paying for medical care. That’s not the Virginia Way.