November 09, 2012
Governor McDonald has made two announcements subsequent to the recent re-election of Barack Obama and a Democratic majority to the United State Senate; both will impact the services and the funding. On Wednesday he announced the decision to use the federally developed and managed “exchange” required by the PPACA — this is a decision which can be changed later, but will apparently govern the initial implementation. At the same time he reaffirmed that the Commonwealth continues to be unwilling to expand Medicaid Coverage to 133% of Federal Poverty. The Pre-conference Sessions at the VNPP Fall Conference covered the implications of this decision in detail and are posted on this website.
On Thursday, Governor McDonald, citing his belief that Congress would not resolve the budget issues needed to avoid the “fiscal cliff” on January 1st, announced that effective immediately all excutive branch agencies must plan for 4%budget cuts.