Weekly Advocacy Brief (Week of July 7) Medicaid: Virginia hospitals—especially those in rural communities- stand to lose more than $2 billion with the reduced Medicaid payments starting in 2028 as outlined in the Trump administration’s just-signed budget law. Among the most concerning Medicaid shifts to affect providers: new work requirements; increased eligibility checks of twice a year starting Dec. 31, 2026; and less funding to cover rising costs. The Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform already warned in late June that nearly 25% of Virginia’s rural hospital were at high risk of closing, and free clinics have braced themselves for a high influx of new needy patients, although a significant percentage of the latter’s budgets are also being impacted. Health facilities have turned to private donors and other nonprofits for additional support, but many providers argue that such philanthropy is not generally intended for long-term operations. With the support that your membership makes possible, NASW will continue to push lawmakers to replace cuts with policies that meet basic needs and uphold dignity for all. 

Virginia Homeland Security Task Force has arrested 2,512 “violent criminals who were unlawfully present in the United States” in the four months after the federal-state partnership launched, according to Gov. Youngkin, who celebrated the immigration enforcement milestone. The governor said the collaboration sought to “confront transnational organized crime, gang activity, and illegal immigration,” and “Virginia is safer today because of it.” However, a CBS News analysis of data from the Department of Homeland Security—one of the federal partners in the coalition—found that only 8% of the 59,000 detained immigrants had records of criminal violence. Regardless, detentions of immigrants facing only civil versus criminal immigration charges rose 250% in May after White House Adviser Stephen Miller set a new goal of 3,000 arrests a day. President Trump removed temporary protection status (TPS) this week for Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Hondurans, many of whom had lived and worked in the U.S. for decades, have U.S.-born children and spouses, and now have 60 days to self-deport. The decision will have deep impacts certain Virginia cities such as Mappsville and Nelsonia, which have populations that are 32% and 26% Haitian, respectively.  

Reproductive Justice: Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit July 7 against the Trump administration to try to stop implementation of a provision in the newly signed domestic budget law that would halt Medicaid payments to all abortion providers for a year and put 200 of its health centers at risk of closing. A U.S. District Court judge granted a temporary injunction against the provision the same day. Nearly 25,000 Virginians relied on the organization’s health centers for birth control, cancer screenings, and other health needs in addition to abortion care in 2024, according to Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia (PPAVA). “This case is about making sure that patients who use Medicaid as their insurance to [receive these services] can continue to do so,” said President and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson, Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA). “… No politician should decide who gets health care and who doesn’t. These are personal, private decisions between patients and their providers,” a position long advocated for by NASW and NASW Virginia. PPFA is “a pillar of the health care system in Virginia,” especially for people with low-incomes, women, and rural families, and any such targeted Medicaid defunding would seriously harm safe healthcare access. Not helping is that the U.S. Supreme Court decided June 26 to allow a South Carolina law to cut off Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood.

Human Trafficking/Drug Addiction: Virginia State Police have gathered 523 tips on human trafficking—more than triple 2023 numbers, announced Gov. Glenn Youngkin at a July 7 press conference. He credits higher public awareness and understanding about spotting a potential trafficking situation, as well as “more-robust strategies for building prosecutable cases” by law enforcement. Youngkin also applauded progress on reducing drug trafficking of fentanyl through an agency coalition working on Operation FREE, which has led to seizure of over 794 pounds of fentanyl in Virginia alone. Its next phase--Operation FREE 4.0—will start in October.