Millions of Virginians could lose health care, see costs go up under Trump

“Donald Trump and JD Vance have told us their ‘concept’ of a health care plan, and it is devastating for Virginia families.”

The Harris-Walz campaign released a health care policy report this week attacking Donald Trump’s proposals – or lack thereof – as harmful for Virginians. 

According to the Harris-Walz campaign, more than one million people in Virginia would lose their health insurance if Trump succeeds in repealing the Affordable Care Act as he has repeatedly said he wants to do and has attempted. 

Trump’s health care policies have come under more scrutiny after he was pressed about it at the September presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris. Her campaign sees the issue as a vulnerable one for Trump given that, according to a Gallup survey, two-thirds of U.S. adults believe it hasn’t gotten enough attention in the presidential campaign. 

“I have concepts of a plan,” Trump said at the debate when asked if he had a health care plan for America. 

If Trump and Vance brought back high-risk pools, as Vance recently suggested, more than 3.5 million people in Virginia with pre-existing conditions would either be denied coverage or charged thousands more, the Harris-Walz campaign said. 

High-risk pool plans offer health insurance coverage that is subsidized by a state government, according to HealthCare.gov. Premiums for high-risk pool plans are typically up to twice as much as people would pay for individual coverage if they did not have pre-existing conditions. 

Repealing the Affordable Care Act and doing away with the rule that health insurance companies can’t refuse coverage because of so-called pre-existing conditions would force nearly 400,000 Virginians to pay more, with middle class families facing increases to premiums of over $9,000, according to the Harris-Walz campaign. 

“Donald Trump and JD Vance have told us their ‘concept’ of a health care plan, and it is devastating for Virginia families,” Brian Nelson, a Harris campaign senior policy advisor, said in a press release. 

The Harris-Walz campaign also criticized Trump and Vance for wanting to roll back the Biden-Harris administration’s work to cap the price of insulin at $35 for seniors and cap the price of out-of-pocket drugs and negotiate with Medicare.

Harris has proposed expanding the $35 monthly insulin cap and the $2,000 annual cap on out-of-pocket drug costs so that it applies to all Americans – not just seniors on Medicare. 

In addition to the policy report released this week, Harris is pursuing a seven-figure ad blitz attacking Trump for calling to repeal the Affordable Care Act and being vague on health care policy specifics, according to NBC News. 

As with other issues where he’s taken unpopular positions – like reproductive rights – Trump is trying to soften his rhetoric on repealing the Affordable Care Act and Vance’s campaign has similarly tried to walk back his comments on high-risk pools, according to the NBC News report. 

“Senator Vance was simply talking about the significant improvements President Trump made to the Affordable Care Act through his deregulatory approach, which aimed to bring down the cost of premiums while ensuring coverage for pre-existing conditions” a Vance spokesperson told NBC. 

The Dogwood could not reach the Trump-Vance campaign for comment. 

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