Congress passed and President Trump signed into law the 2025 budget reconciliation package, known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill” (H.R. 1), on July 4, 2025. The law includes nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid and CHIP spending cuts over the next decade, a rollback projected to leave 10 million more Americans uninsured by 2034 – the largest reduction in federal health coverage support in history.
In Virginia, Medicaid is a lifeline – particularly in rural communities, where nearly one-quarter of adults and 40% of children rely on Medicaid or CHIP for coverage. Cuts to the program will shift costs onto families already struggling to afford housing, groceries, education, and other essentials. Without this support, many would face higher out-of-pocket expenses, leading them to delay or forgo needed care. The result is worsening health outcomes, especially for those managing chronic conditions, and greater strain on hospitals already grappling with workforce shortages and overcrowding.
Medicaid is also critical to the stability of community health centers (CHCs), which serve as the backbone of care for underserved populations. Expansion has been shown to improve CHC financial performance and reduce the risk of closure, particularly in rural markets that once had large numbers of uninsured residents. Deep cuts, however, would undermine this progress, forcing many health centers to scale back essential services or even shut down, leaving families with fewer options and longer distances to travel for care.
For more information on how reforms of Medicaid spending can impact your community, please use the 2023 Rural Medicaid coverage by county, the 2024 Medicaid Enrollment Data, Percent of Total Population, by state or Congressional District, and KFF’s Maps on State-by-State Estimates from Eliminating the Medicaid Expansion Federal Match Rates.
Through our advocacy efforts, VCHA wants to connect your stories to members of Congress and the Administration ensuring your messages are heard by those with the power to enact change at every level.
Sharing your personal stories is a vital part of advocacy. At VCHA, we want to lift-up your voices and capture your experiences in our advocacy efforts. Please share your experiences and your patients experiences, whether it is working in your health center, struggling with workforce shortages, traveling far distances to obtain healthcare access, experiencing the impact of health center reduced services or closures in your community, or explaining how specific programs and funding have benefited or harmed your community.
We will be tracking and saving your stories to use and quote in specific advocacy campaigns, messaging, social media, and Hill meetings with Congress.
If you have any questions or requests, please contact info@vcha.org.
Virginia Community Healthcare Association has partnered with Vot-ER! Vot-ER provides free, HIPAA-compliant, and nonpartisan tools to help Community Health Centers easily integrate civic engagement into patient care. Over 900 healthcare sites are already using these tools to help their patients get ready to vote and influence policies that directly affect their health.
Allow patients to check and update their voter registration directly through your patient portals.
Send nonpartisan election reminders and voting info through your existing texting platforms.
Access free badges, posters, flyers, and digital resources tailored to your health center.
Interested in getting started? Contact Vot-ER’s Field Director, Bianca Navarro at bianca@vot-er.org, or visit vot-er.org.
Medicaid is a lifeline for Virginia’s Community Health Centers (CHCs), playing a pivotal role in lowering costs for families and providing aging and disability care and comprehensive health care. Cutting or defunding Medicaid would also create major gaps in state funding and devastate state budgets. Any type of cut – whether as block grants, per capita caps, work requirements, or other changes – will take critical care away from millions of people.
In Virginia, cuts to Medicaid would affect the over 1.8 million people – or 1 in 8 adults – who rely on Medicaid for healthcare and access to home and community-based care.
Want to contact your member of Congress directly? Quickly identify and contact elected officials including, members of Congress currently representing your health center and community.
Remember, you have the power to make your voice heard by contacting your representatives and advocating for the issues that matter most to you.
