Thousands of Virginians will lose Medicaid coverage
The Trump administration’s cuts to the Medicaid program are expected to threaten healthcare coverage for some 300,000 Virginians. While the state government is taking steps to fill the gap, it won’t come close to making up the difference.
Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” (H.R. 1), passed by Congress in 2025, cuts the federal Medicaid program by a trillion dollars nationwide over the next 10 years. Virginia will lose about $1.8 billion to $2.8 billion a year beginning in 2028.
About 1.8 million Virginians rely on Medicaid for their health coverage, according to the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS).
The legislation also weakens Medicare’s authority to negotiate prescription drug prices. Extra subsidies in the Medicare Part D program will expire at the end of the year. That program lowered drug prices for nearly 690,000 seniors in Virginia.
In addition to the funding cuts in H.R. 1, the legislation requires states to undertake significant changes in their Medicaid operations.
Beginning on Jan. 1, 2027, states will be required to implement the federal work requirement for the Medicaid Expansion, enacted in 2019, which expanded coverage to low-income adults ages 19-64. Traditional Medicaid is limited to specific categories, such as children, seniors, and people with disabilities.
Adults with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level who are not eligible for traditional Medicaid will be required to spend at least 80 hours a month working, doing community service, or participating in a training program – or enroll in an education program at least half-time. Certain medically frail individuals, disabled veterans, and people who are taking care of a child or a disabled family member are among those exempt.
The DMAS estimates up to 23,400 Fairfax County residents could be affected by the work requirement.
Beginning Oct. 1, a new definition of “qualified noncitizen” takes effect. Medicaid eligibility will be limited to U.S. citizens and Green Card holders after five years.
Eligibility will be canceled for conditional entrants, refugees, asylum seekers, victims of trafficking, and legally residing active-duty military members, veterans, and their spouses and dependent children.
Related story: Medicaid cuts would harm Virginians and the state budget
As of Jan. 1, states will be required to check the eligibility of Medicaid Expansion recipients every six months, rather than annually.
Also on Jan. 1, retroactive coverage for Medicaid will be reduced from three months to one month for Medicaid Expansion recipients and to two months for other Medicaid recipients.
Virginia’s biennial budget for 2026-28 provides $350 million to establish a Medicaid Reserve Fund to offset federal Medicaid cuts.
The budget also includes $150 million for targeted premium assistance on Virginia’s Insurance Marketplace.
The State Corporation Commission estimates that about 100,000 Virginians have lost health insurance coverage this year as a result of higher premiums.
A new health insurance affordability program in the biennial budget is expected to help 200,000 Virginians save as much as 70 percent on their monthly premium under a Virginia Health Benefit Exchange administered by the SCC.
The new program is targeted to Virginians with household incomes between 138 and 250 percent of the federal poverty level.
In 2026, Virginia Marketplace consumers saw an average increase of 75 percent in what they pay for health insurance premiums, according to the SCC. This increase was a result of a 22 percent increase in premiums by health insurance carriers and the expiration of the federal enhanced premium tax credits.
While some consumers enrolled in lower-tier plans with less costly premiums, the SCC says, others were priced out altogether or canceled their plans after just a few months. Enrollment has dropped by 20 percent compared to this time last year.
We can spend money for a Whitehouse ballroom, a helipad and a botched renovation of the Reflecting pool. Oh, I’m forgetting the Trump Arch and the very costly war with Iran.
The cruelty and ineptitude of this administration is beyond belief!
I think it’s their intention to starve Americans- recent SNAP benefit cuts and now to let them die due to lack of medical care.
Wait until you see how long it will take to get seen in an Emergency Dept after all these cuts. It will also force more rural hospitals to close due to the increased volume of uninsured people.
So much winning!
Vote Blue!!
You are sooo right, this administration is beyond belief. How can you be so Heartless? I’ll tell you how because you don’t have to deal with any of the things day to day families have to deal with, you have food on your table, medical insurance. And just because you have, the HELL with everyone else.
Because they don’t care. “The public be damned,” said Carnegie. Welcome to the new Golden Age.
Outstanding. Thank you, President Trump, for making difficult decisions that will benefit the majority of hard-working, legal citizens.
How much more is gonna be cut? Do you wanna cut our Medicaid the extra help for Medicaid? I live on Social Security disability and an extra help helps me every month. I cannot afford for you to take away the help. I barely live month-to-month you’re not looking at the people that you’re taking care of and cutting the stuff from you’re just looking at yourself. You’re being hasty at taking stuff away from people you just putting money in your own pocket. What kind of person are you? You’re not the president I thought you were.
“There are two sides to every coin”. In my area, many illegal migrants received Food Stamps, free housing, free healthcare services, free cash monthly and not a day working in this country. Each time I go to the groceries, they picked the most expensive meats and the biggest size without hesitation. They have parties every weekends, blocking your driveways, if you said something about it, they got smart mouths that our name is not on it or VDOT own the street, not the homeowner’s. I can sympathize for people that really need it but for those people I mentioned above don’t deserve, period. But how Trump could able to separate the facts that we all know, he has a very short window being a President and there are thousand and thousand of matters needed to put it right and fair before his term is expired. My mother is on Food Stamps and I also worry, too but we will run out of money if nothing done about it, It’s ugly but he didn’t open the border and invited the criminals in to destroy the country. He’s trying to clean up but I’m afraid we are heading for the worse once he’s out the office.
Perhaps what you are saying is true, care to provide any proof of all the free things they are receiving? It’s something we hear over and over to scare everyone about all these “criminals” who enter our country. Should we do something about illegal immigration, absolutely, is everything you hear from Trump and Fox News accurate? Come on….. prove it.
can you cite any of your sources, Margaret??
The “illegal” immigrants do NOT receive healthcare services through Medicare!!
Perhaps you do not deserve to spread misinformation and need more education (ween yourself of Fox news for a start).
This affects you too MAGA , How do you feel about voting for trump now? How is this making America great again? How does cutting Medicaid, benefit the American people? why havent the powers that be ,done something ? This country went against King George for less and created the Constitution of the United States so that this would not happen again but here it is. The Iran war is costing trillions so that kids can have their healthcare affected . The majority of individuals eligible for Medicaid are children.
Please list any positive acts the American people have received from this administration.
You are right, if there’s money for all the useless luxurious things that costs millions and don’t think twice about it and have the nerve to tell us that they have to take away money from health services because they don’t have it anymore is like spitting in our faces
The majority luckily avoids all these cuts!