Without the local hospital, Franklin County resident Penny Blue says she probably would not have survived her stroke.
“I asked my sister to call 911 and then told her, ‘I know you’re doing your best, but I need you to speed up,’” Blue recalled. “In other words, I was panicking.”
Blue said she knew in 2013 that seconds would make a life-or-death difference when she felt the onset of a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a type of stroke also called a brain aneurysm.
Even though Blue lives in rural Union Hall, she said Franklin Memorial Hospital was only about 15 minutes away. After initial treatment there, she was flown to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital for two weeks of intensive care treatment.
“Cuts to Medicaid put hospitals like Franklin Memorial at risk of closing, and at a minimum of being understaffed,” Blue said in a press conference at South County Library in Roanoke County.
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“Without that hospital and the care I received, there would have been a good chance of me not surviving this.”
Health care advocates on Wednesday were marking the 60th anniversary of when President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicaid and Medicare into law in 1965.
Earlier in July, President Donald Trump signed into law a tax and spending bill that includes trillions of dollars in tax breaks, partially paid for by cutting more than $1 trillion from safety net programs like health care and food assistance.
Virginia, as a result, is projected to lose $6.8 billion in Medicaid spending over the next 10 years, and some 300,000 state residents are expected to lose health care, said Katie Baker, state director for a national health care advocacy group called Protect Our Care.
“The biggest cuts to Medicaid in history,” Baker said. “Fortunately, the worst of these cuts are not going to hit until 2028 … so there is still time for Congress to reverse course.”
For Rep. Ben Cline, R-Botetourt, however, the cuts restore “programmatic integrity” and will ensure “our nation’s safety net will be available for years to come.”
“The One Big Beautiful Bill restores the original intent of Medicaid, prioritizing pregnant women, children, seniors, the disabled, and low-income families,” the congressman said in an email to The Roanoke Times. “It also delivers a historic $50 billion investment in rural health hospitals, ensuring these providers have the necessary resources to care for those in their communities.”
But pregnant women in Martinsville are still without a labor and delivery unit after their hospital’s wing closed in 2022, Dr. Makunda Abdul-Mbacke said Wednesday. Since starting her medical practice in the Martinsville area, Abdul-Mbacke said she has noticed changes to the availability of health care and how people pay for it.
Dr. Makunda Abdul-Mbacke speaks during a press conference about cuts to Medicaid. The program was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965, 60 years ago.
Luke Weir, The Roanoke Times
“When I came down here in 2007, there were about 10 other OB-GYNs in the area that were practicing,” Abdul-Mbacke said. “But over the past 15 or so years, all of those doctors have left the area, so I am the only remaining OB-GYN in that area of Virginia.”
Whereas her patients previously split about halfway between private insurance and Medicaid, now it’s more like 80% Medicaid users, Abdul-Mbacke said. Families’ access to care is being sold out for tax cuts to corporations and the wealthy, she said.
“Today I’m here to speak out for my patients, because these massive health care cuts are going to mean death,” Abdul-Mbacke said. “We need to really question when we live in a society where your address determines your life outcomes.”
Average life expectancy is about 67 years in Martinsville and 71 years in Roanoke, both lower than the state average of 78 years, according to the Virginia Department of Health.
“People in Martinsville are losing 10 years of their life,” Abdul-Mbacke said. “A lot of it has to do with all of these socioeconomic things. A big thing has to do with health care.”
Speakers on Wednesday often referenced a comment by Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who is running as the Republican nominee for governor, when she said, “don’t panic, things are being worked out,” in response to a question about health care cuts.
Earle-Sears’ campaign did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Dr. Janet Osborne is a gynecologic cancer physician with Carilion Clinic. She said they are the only such specialists on this side of the state.
“When I’m sitting there taking care of a patient and we can’t get them started on treatment, or there’s a disruption in their care because of their coverage, that person is panicking,” Osborne said. “They’re panicking before we even started. They’re facing a life-threatening illness.”
When she arrived in Roanoke 15 years ago, Osborne said she was shocked in her first year to care for more women — especially young women — with advanced cervical cancer than during 13 years of practice in the urban Midwest.
“This bill really magnifies the health disparities that we see between urban and rural areas,” Osborne said. “These are not theoretics. These are real people, real patients that I actually see and take care of every day.”
Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, is running for reelection this year. He said only Kentucky and North Carolina will see worse impacts from the federal changes, which he described as a betrayal.
“This bill is a direct war on Appalachia,” Rasoul said. “What we have here is a $1 trillion cut from these programs to fund a massive tax cut for the ultra-wealthy.”
Maynard Keller, Rasoul’s opponent, is registered as an independent but has run for other past offices as a Republican. Keller says claims of cuts to Medicare are misleading.
“Concerns about negative impacts on rural hospitals are also misplaced,” Maynard told The Roanoke Times. “The bill is aimed at reducing waste, fraud, and abuse — not reducing access to care.”
Republicans and Keller point to a provision in the new bill that requires able-bodied people to work, volunteer or attend classes for about 20 hours per week in order to stay on Medicaid. Cline noted that requirement was first signed into law by President Bill Clinton, a Democrat.
Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, in July was appointed health subcommittee chair for the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce. In an email Wednesday, Griffith said he has been visiting rural hospitals in Southwest Virginia to “discuss the path forward.”
“Rural hospitals and the state should have time to adjust,” Griffith said. “The states were supposed to be partners with the federal government on Medicaid Expansion, and this change will force the Medicaid Expansion states to live up to their commitment. If the states do so, rural hospitals should be OK.”
Penny Blue from Franklin County said she is among the 18% of people who return to full health after surviving brain aneurysms.
“I thank God, and I am grateful,” she said, wiping back tears, “that I live in a country and have access to a local hospital such as Franklin Memorial that helped save my life and the quality of my life.”