Del. Chris Jones (R-Suffolk) spent years opposing Medicaid expansion in Virginia. Now, in a new advertisement, he is boasting that he “led the fight to expand Medicaid.”
Jones, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, was one of the key opponents of Medicaid expansion, despite the fact that the Commonwealth Institute estimated it would extend healthcare coverage to over a thousand of his constituents. The Washington Post even described him as “a leader in the fight against Medicaid expansion” as he worked to remove Medicaid expansion from the 2014 state budget.
Jones continued working to remove Medicaid expansion from the budget every year during former Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s administration. He reversed his position in 2018 after Republicans – who ran on an anti-expansion platform – lost a staggering 15 seats in the House of Delegates during the 2017 General Assembly elections.
The Democratic Party of Virginia released a statement on Tuesday calling attention to Jones’ claims that he was a proponent of expansion and pointed out that his own website still features an article highlighting his fight against expansion.
DPVA Secretary Grant Fox criticized Jones’ flip-flop. “He spent years fighting tooth and nail to deny thousands of people in his community access to affordable health care and they know it. Now that his political career is at risk, he’s distorting his record on Medicaid expansion,” Fox said.
Politics
Democratic shakeup in Virginia primaries for governor, lieutenant governor
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney quit his bid for governor and jumped into the race to be the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor. The race for...
New Biden rule protects privacy of women seeking abortions
Under the new rules, state officials and law enforcement cannot obtain medical records related to lawful reproductive health care with the goal of...
Local News
Virginia verses: Celebrating 5 poetic icons for National Poetry Month
There’s no shortage of great writers when it comes to our commonwealth. From the haunting verses of Edgar Allan Poe, who found solace in Richmond's...
Join the fun: Recapping Family Literacy Night’s storybook adventures
When’s the last time you read a book aloud with a loved one? If it’s difficult to answer that question, then maybe it’s time to dust off that TBR...