With the 2017 Virginia General Assembly session underway, hospital and business leaders are urging legislators to take a “do no harm” approach to health-care legislation.
“We should be extremely cautious on a state policy level about doing anything that could negatively impact these vital services, their providers and our economy,” Bryan K. Stephens, president of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, said during a Richmond news conference held by the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association. VHHA represents 107 hospitals and 30 health systems in the commonwealth.
VHHA officials suggested that the legislature wait and see how Congress acts on President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), known commonly as Obamacare. The association cited the results of a Mason-Dixon poll of 625 Virginia voters showing a majority favored holding off on significant health-care changes until Congress has acted.
