It was quite a day at the old General Assembly. Although Martin Luther King was honored in
both chambers, the GA does not take the holiday. Today was the lobby day for a wide assortment
of groups: marijuana legalization
advocates were present and fired up, gun rights advocates wore stickers saying “Guns
Don’t Kill People, “ gun control advocates had stickers saying “Checks Save
Lives,” and the motorcycle riders sported their colors.
Once more, you can’t make this stuff up. As I was observing the Senate session in
Senate Room Two, a gun rights advocate wearing a coonskin hat sat next to
me. As he left, his gun fell out of its
holster on the floor beside me. I feared
my days were over, but the gun did not fire.
I guess if it had, the floor would have killed me and not the gun.
I have written earlier about the Chafin/Puckett salary
amendments. If adopted they will provide
the state share of a 6% salary increase for school personnel. The problem is that there is little money to
work with in this legislative session.
It cost $39.1 million to provide the state share of a 1% salary
increase.
What could change that?
The answer is Medicaid Expansion.
So
how does all this affect funding for public education? If we take the Federal dollars for the Medicaid
Expansion, we can use those dollars to pay for programs now funded by the
General Fund. That would free up funds
for public education and salaries.
Federal dollars will replace General Fund dollars if coverage is
expanded. Over the next nine years this
could free up $298.8 million for health care for inmates, $637.4 million for indigent
care at teaching hospitals, $292 million for behavioral health services at
community service boards, and $104 million for other. This adds up to $1.3 billion! Education now gets 30% of each General Fund dollar. That could be $444 million more for our
schools.
Plain and simple, one way to provide additional dollars for teacher
salaries and other educational priorities is to expand Medicaid.
Beyond the Federal dollars, it is estimated that expansion will create
33,000 additional jobs. This increase on
payroll will increase tax revenues providing more funds for our schools.
Medicaid Expansion will provide medical insurance to 191,000 uncovered
Virginians. Many of the uninsured
families include students we teach. Medicaid
Expansion will reduce the hidden tax you pay when you pay your health insurance
premiums. Paying medical customers,
those with wealth or insurance, absorb the costs of the uninsured when they pay
their premiums. Not having to pay for the uninsured could
decrease your insurance premiums by up to 10%.
So, the bottom line is that Medicaid Expansion will increase your bottom
line and the bottom line for public education.
