Why this matters for Virginia

(Originally posted on the National Physicians Alliance blog February 14, 2011)

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Since you found this page, I presume you know something about National Physicians Alliance (NPA)'s efforts at the national level to improve access to health care, to reduce the influence of PhRMA and industry on medical care, and to further the causes of fairness and justice in our health care system.

In Virginia, these efforts will be even more important. Our current political leadership did not support the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA; aka "health care reform"). Our current Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli, takes great pride in the fact that he has sued the federal government to overturn the ACA's individual mandate--a step that will undercut many of the popular insurance company reforms the ACA instituted and that would drastically reduce the law's effectiveness. Meanwhile, in 2010 Virginia’s General Assembly passed a law that aims to exempt Virginians from the ACA’s individual mandate.

It is clear that Virginia, through our state government, will be a battleground state in the current legal challenges to the ACA. It is perhaps fitting, in this 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, that we Virginians find ourselves discussing the ideas of states’ rights versus the authority of the federal government. Once again, it will likely be a long and drawn-out struggle, but one that will have a tremendous impact on our nation’s future.

If you would like to work with NPA on these important issues, please join NPA nationally, and please join the local Virginia network focused on addressing these issues in the Commonwealth. Please contact Becky Martin from the NPA (becky.martin@npalliance.net) to let her know of your interest, and welcome to the team!