Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-VA) announced Friday that he's
going to sign the contentious budget the Republican legislature provided to keep the state running after the end of this month. But he's going to veto the lawmakers' provision to ban him from pursuing Medicaid expansion on his own.
The governor also said he will use his line-item veto to defund the legislature's Medicaid Innovation and Reform Commission, calling it a sham that has blocked implementation.
The governor said he is "moving forward" on health care expansion and has ordered Secretary of Health and Human Resources Bill Hazel to put a plan for expansion on his desk by Sept. 1.
State legislators approved a two year budget the night of June 12, breaking an impasse, but they included an amendment that seeks to bar Medicaid expansion or a private option without approval of both houses of the legislature.
State Democrats had
urged McAuliffe to veto the Medicaid amendment, including Sen. Creigh Deeds who said this was "the best option" for McAullife. "At this point, there is not much for him to lose if he can find a way to line item veto the amendment out of the budget." McAuliffe found a way, and now he's going to find a way to bring Medicaid to the 400,000 Virginians who fall in the Medicaid gap.