VA, FL lawmakers and residents battle healthcare reform

State lawmakers and some public employers continue to voice concern over the benefits of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), with many states experiencing low participation and high opposition regarding the implementation of healthcare reform. 

According to CNN, conservative lawmakers, such as Marco Rubio of Florida, are using budgets to oppose state healthcare measures funded by the federal government. Town halls in many states, including Virginia, continue to see low turnout as more individuals urge federal lawmakers to repeal Obamacare.

In fact, only one person attended a recent town hall meeting in Virginia. POLITICO, a news source for national politics, reported that while many states, such as Ohio and Missouri, are seeing pro-Obamacare events, Virginia is not one of them. The town hall meeting in Centreville, Va., had only Lynn Duvall, a resident of Fairfax, in attendance.

Although she was the meeting’s lone participant, Duvall told POLITICO she remains passionate about healthcare reform because she sees the law as a good thing for her family’s finances.

“If the Affordable Care Act weren’t there, we would just have to deal with [high healthcare costs],” Duvall said. “If it means we lose all of the assets we’ve saved over our lifetime, that’s what it would be.”