ThinkProgress: GOP Lawmakers Confronted By Constituents Demanding To Know Why They Wont Expand Medicaid
Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a right-wing group funded by the billionaire Koch Brothers, has been aggressively pressuring states to reject Obamacares optional Medicaid expansion. Last fall, the organization launched a massive campaign that has focused mainly on Virginia. But the latest town hall meetings hosted by AFP in the state arent exactly going well.
Over the past week, at several town halls intended to emphasize why Virginia shouldnt expand Medicaid, GOP lawmakers have been confronted by constituents who are demanding to know why theyre denying health care from an estimated 400,000 low-income residents.
Last week, at an AFP-sponsored forum in Charlottesville featuring two GOP lawmakers who oppose the expansion, the event was packed with more than a hundred Medicaid supporters. Protesters gathered outside the building with signs encouraging passing cars to honk for Medicaid expansion, and a local outlet noted that the politicians faced a hostile audience inside, too.