Virginia lawmakers debate over possible Medicaid expansion

Virginia's Democratic governor, Terry McAuliffe, and the state's House of Delegates debated Monday, the first of many discussions in a special legislative session, over Medicaid expansion.

The standoff between Virginia lawmakers and the House is preventing a possible $96 billion budget from passing legislation. The opposing sides have until July 1 to compromise and reach an agreement.

This special legislative session started when legislators were at a stalemate over the expanded budget during a 60-day regular session that ended March 8.

McAuliffe proposed Monday a two-year pilot expansion of Medicaid, the federal health program for the poor, that could come to a halt if unsuccessful.

"We can end the program without penalty if it does not serve Virginians well over those two years," McAuliffe said during an appearance with administration officials and legislators, according to a Reuters report.

Under the Affordable Care Act, the government could fund the full cost of Virginia's expansion through 2016. But McAuliffe believes this money could better be used to create jobs, raise state salaries, bolster pensions and create health reforms.

The Republican-dominated House feels that this move is too expensive, however.

"We're not going to do Medicaid expansion in the budget," Kirk Cox, majority leader of the House of Delegates, said last week.

Under the current Medicaid proposal, the federal government would pay the full cost of Virginia's expansion through 2016, then lessen its contribution to 90 percent by 2020.

A platform in McAuliffe's 2013 campaign was expanding Medicaid coverage to more than 400,000 Virginians, and is still his top priority, he says. The details of his budget proposal are expected to surface in the next few days, and the House could possibly lay out a spending blueprint Monday.

Republicans in Virginia's lower legislative chamber defeated Medicaid expansion 67-32 in a test vote during the legislature's regular session. Cox said no minds had changed since then.