The General Assembly Adjourned Without a Budget – Now What?

• The VDA’s primary focus with the legislature this year has been on the budget and addressing the erosion in funding for the Dental Medicaid Benefit. Through dozens of meetings at Lobby Day, direct appeals, more than a thousand letters and phone calls from members, the VDA has led the effort to include a substantial increase in the budget. The Senate included more than $100 million in state and federal funding for a Medicaid reimbursement increase in their budget. The House did not. In a typical year, the two chambers would resolve the differences in their budgets before adjourning and the Governor would have 30 days to approve or amend the budget. The 2022 General Assembly session officially adjourned on March 12^th with no budget.

Next Step

• Governor Youngkin has said he’s waiting for the budget conferees to reach a resolution on the final budget before he will call lawmakers back into a special session.  A date for the special session has not yet been set.  The VDA and our members are continuing to reach out to budget conferees to ensure they understand the importance of a substantial increase in Medicaid dental rates.  

What can I do now?

• It’s not too late to contact your legislator with a personalized message about the importance of properly funding the dental Medicaid program in their budget. It just takes a couple minutes to send them a message and keep this important issue top of mind during their deliberations. 

TAKE ACTION