CHESAPEAKE, Va. — U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) announced that a Chesapeake man will be his guest at President Trump's 2020 State of the Union address.
Warner said Terry "Bean" White lost his private insurance in 2008 when severe arthritis forced him to give up his job working in the Newport News' shipyards.
White became one of nearly 400,000 Virginians who gained coverage through the state's Medicaid expansion.
According to a news release from Warner, White has congestive heart failure and was previously treated for prostate cancer. He became eligible for Medicaid at the beginning of last year, a move made possible by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Before getting coverage, White incurred an enormous amount of medical debt.
White said without Medicaid expansion in Virginia, the cost of his medication would be about $7,000 a month.
Warner said White's coverage is now at risk due to a lawsuit backed by President Trump that seeks to overturn the ACA.
"Despite the Trump Administration’s best efforts to dismantle our nation’s health care law, people like Mr. White are proof that Obamacare is working for Americans, and that Medicaid expansion is thriving in Virginia," Warner said.
Back in December, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the individual mandate of the ACA is unconstitutional, and that other parts of the law need further review.
The ruling means the ultimate fate for the rest of the ACA -- including popular provisions such as protections for those with pre-existing conditions, Medicaid expansion and the ability for children under the age of 26 to remain on their parents' insurance -- remains unclear.
Warner said if the lawsuit is ultimately successful, more than 20 million Americans and nearly 400,000 Virginians could lose their health coverage, with costs going up for millions.
President Trump and lawmakers often bring guests to the State of the Union address to highlight a policy or political issue. Senator Warner's guest in 2019, for example, was a federal employee who was impacted by last year's government shutdown.
The State of the Union is Tuesday, February 4, 2020.
