RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Medicaid officials are still waiting for crucial information about how recent federal changes will affect the 1.9 million Virginians enrolled in the program.
Cheryl Roberts, Virginia's Medicaid Director, told state lawmakers Wednesday that guidance is lacking on most aspects of President Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill," which includes significant changes to Medicaid.
"When I say we don't know, we really don't know yet," Roberts said. "We do not have CMS guidance for 90% of this and that's important."
WATCH: Sen. Tim Kaine: Trump's new law threatens healthcare for 322,000 Virginians
The changes will primarily affect the 600,000 Virginians covered under the 2018 Medicaid expansion through the Affordable Care Act. New requirements include completing 80 hours monthly of work, education, or community service.
Roberts explained that enrollees will need to verify compliance twice yearly instead of once, raising concerns about the complexity of the process.
"We'll be trying to focus as much as we can to make it electronic, try to make that process as well as we can. But that's about 50% and the other 50% we're going to have to figure out," Roberts said.
Del. Rodney Willett (D-Henrico) expressed concern about the verification process.
"On a good day under the current system, you need a master's level college education to understand the forms, and that's with people's help," Willett said.
Another major concern is the financial impact on hospitals. The Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association estimates hospitals could lose $2 billion annually, potentially forcing closures, especially in rural areas.
While Roberts didn't provide specific figures, she confirmed the losses would be substantial. "We give the hospitals now billions of dollars, so the decline would be in billions," she said.
National Politics
What's in the tax and spending bill that Trump has signed into law
Sen. Chris Head (R-Botetourt) shared his observations from conversations with healthcare administrators: "This time, there is just a foreboding fear among all of the hospital administrators that I'm in contact with, and they're not even sure what how to formulate the questions yet, because there's so much we don't know."
The General Assembly remains in special session and could reconvene to address these Medicaid changes, but lawmakers say they need more concrete information first.
Delegate Cia Price (D-Newport News) said she was frustrated by the lack of concrete projections.
"We at this time, do not have a true sense of what we're up against, and so as I'm hearing, Congress may be out for the rest of the summer," Price said "We're here, stuck trying to figure out how to protect Virginians, but with a lack of transparency and lack of specifics, it makes it very tough."
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
📲: CONNECT WITH US
Blue Sky | Facebook | Instagram | X | Threads | TikTok | YouTube
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. To learn more about how we use AI in our newsroom, click here.
