More Medicaid? Fredericksburg Takes Stage in Standoff

Republican leaders in the Virginia legislature are calling for a special session to discuss Medicaid expansion. But columnist Robert McCartney writes in The Washington Post that it's a legislative maneuver to make it easier to eventually sideline the proposal.

Should Medicaid be expanded in Virginia? Tell us in the comments!

And he points to Fredericksburg to suggest GOP leaders aren't serious about compromise. McCartney spoke to Mary Washington Hospital executive Frank Rankin.

The local hospital could see $14 million a year for services to the poor under expanded Medicaid — programs that may be in trouble without that federal support. But McCartnery can't get the ear of local legislator and House Speaker Bill Howell, R-Stafford.

“This time, it appears that he is really drawing the line in the sand around no compromise," Rankin told the Post. "It’s a behavior I haven’t seen in the past.”

Howell's office points to the special session offer as proof that discussion can continue on the issue, but not as long as Medicaid is tied to pressing budget talks.

Read Robert McCartney's column.

The Virginian-Pilot notes Washington has promised to fund 100 percent of Medicaid expansion costs through 2016, then gradually lower the funding down to a permanent 90 percent rate by 2020.

The practical GOP response: That federal support is not sustainable. The political GOP response: Obamacare!

Should Medicaid be expanded in Virginia? Tell us in the comments!