According to Kiran Krishnamurthy at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Medicaid and transportation are the top legislative priorities in the House of Delegates.
House Speaker William J. Howell, R-Stafford, says that Medicaid, which accounts for 12 percent of the General Fund budget, needs a top-to-bottom reform just like welfare did. Krishnamurthy quotes Howell as follows:
Lawmakers “kind of blew up the [welfare] model and started over, and I really think we have to take a look at Medicaid in that same kind of sense,” he said, mentioning health savings accounts and HMOs for Medicaid participants as possible avenues.
On the transportation side, Howell says he will have “a very full package,” with an emphasis on generating revenue through tolls.
