U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine said Tuesday that strains on the nation’s healthcare system are his top domestic concern ahead of the State of the Union address, citing recent policy changes that could leave millions without coverage.
Speaking at a virtual press conference, Kaine pointed to the impact of last year’s budget reconciliation bill, including new Medicaid work and reporting requirements that are projected to disenroll millions of people by 2034. He also highlighted the expiration of enhanced tax credits that had lowered premiums for Affordable Care Act plans.
The nonprofit health policy research group KFF estimates that the end of those subsidies will drive average premium payments up by 114%.
“With the passage of the Affordable Care Act that I was pleased to champion way back when, and then with its expansion in Virginia, the Medicaid expansion, we were able to get to a place in the country in the last couple years where we had driven the uninsured rate down to the lowest it’s been in the history of the nation,” Kaine said. “But in the last year, the system has really absorbed a lot of shocks.”
Joining Kaine was Dr. Cameron Roberts, a Harrisonburg-based dentist and dental director on the board of the nonprofit Augusta Regional Dental Clinic. Roberts will attend the State of the Union as Kaine’s guest.
Roberts said his private practice has seen a sharp rise in calls from patients asking whether the office accepts Medicaid.
“Probably 15 calls a day,” he said. “What is frustrating is we don’t have great resources in that particular area to refer them to.”
At the charitable clinic, he said, staff are also hearing from patients who previously had coverage through the Affordable Care Act but have since lost insurance.
“There are lots of people that were covered with insurance under ACA that have now lost it, and so they’re calling to see if they can get in with us,” Roberts said.
Roberts added that poor dental health can affect other systems in the body, underscoring the broader consequences of gaps in coverage.