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Report says a second Trump term would add 4 billion tons of climate pollution; Trump predicts a bloodbath for the country if he is defeated in November's election; Nevada leaders discuss future of IVF, abortion in the Silver State; and anglers seek trawler buffer zone as Atlantic herring stock declines.

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The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

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Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Health Advocates: Va. Special Session Key to Closing Coverage Gap

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Thursday, March 15, 2018   

RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia’s governor has set April 11 as the date for a General Assembly special session to settle a budget standoff over Medicaid expansion.

The General Assembly adjourned over the weekend without passing a budget because of differences among Republicans over Medicaid expansion - an issue the party has long resisted.

Health advocates say a special session to settle the impasse is one of the best chances they've seen in years to close the health coverage gap. They say nearly 400,000 low-income Virginians will finally be able to gain health coverage if a budget deal is reached and the state moves forward with passing Medicaid expansion.

Republican leaders in the House supported a budget that included Medicaid expansion, but most Senate Republicans remain opposed.

Jim Dau, AARP Virginia’s state director, says while the plan is not perfect, it's long overdue.

"(It’s) at least a very positive step forward in looking at the overall budget, the saving the state has as a result of being able to draw down these federal funds, bringing these tax dollars back to Virginia, they are making long-overdue investments in things like public safety," Dau says.

Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment said last week that the two plans were about $843 million apart in terms of funding. Gov. Ralph Northam has now set April 11 as the date for the special session on the budget.

Dau says lawmakers – particularly those in the House – deserve credit for working across the aisle because the General Assembly has never been this close to considering Medicaid expansion.

"They are paying attention to the message they got from voters in November that health care in Virginia and expanding coverage is a critically important priority for them,” he says. “Those members of Virginia's Senate majority caucus, they don't see it quite the same way, and I think that their position is a bit outdated."

House Speaker Kirk Cox previously said that going home for a few days could help cool tensions and enable a budget deal to be reached later. If lawmakers cannot pass a budget before the end of Virginia's fiscal year on June 30, the state's government will shut down.


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