The VPM Daily Newscast contains all your Central Virginia news in just 5 to 10 minutes. Episodes are recorded the night before.
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Here’s a recap of the top stories on the morning of Feb. 26, 2025:
Medicaid expansion trigger law left untouched during General Assembly
Reported by VPM News’ Adrienne Hoar McGibbon
This week, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are negotiating a federal budget that could include deep cuts to Medicaid, essentially disassembling the commonwealth’s expanded program.
In Virginia, nearly 2 million Virginians rely on Medicaid for health care coverage, including 630,000 Virginians who receive coverage through the state’s 2018 Medicaid expansion. The expansion, signed into law by Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, includes trigger language that automatically terminates the program if federal funding falls below 90%.
As VPM News previously reported, state Sens. Creigh Deeds (D–Charlottesville) and Ghazala Hashmi (D–Chesterfield) had introduced a budget amendment that would have set out a plan if the federal government cuts Medicaid funding.
But Hashmi said the proposal — which would have established an oversight review group to determine alternate funding sources within 45 days of the passage of federal law — didn’t have a sponsor from the House of Delegates, so negotiators punted it during budget discussions.
Freddy Mejia, a Medicare coverage advocate and policy director at The Commonwealth Institute, said it was a “missed opportunity” that the senators’ language addressing the trigger law didn’t make it into the budget draft.
Virginia juvenile justice reforms await Youngkin’s decision
Reported by VPM News’ Keyris Manzanares
Several juvenile justice reform bills that could reshape how Virginia approaches youth incarceration and rehabilitation are heading to Gov. Glenn Youngkin's desk — including two sponsored by state Sen. Lamont Bagby (D–Henrico).
One of Bagby’s bills would only allow children to be placed in physical restraints during court appearances if a judge determined it necessary for safety purposes. Virginia is currently one of just 11 states that has not limited or outlawed shackling juveniles in court — though Bagby said only a few Virginia courthouses engage in the practice.
"Most sheriff's offices in the commonwealth of Virginia were not only not doing this, but had huge issues with this being done,” he said.
Bagby’s other bill would prohibit restorative housing, also known as solitary confinement. The bill was not specifically written to apply to juveniles, but its inclusive language also covers those incarcerated at Virginia’s only youth prison: Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center.
“Twenty-three hours a day in a small room is too much,” said Valerie Slater, executive director of RISE for Youth. “We're talking about young people who are still developing and growing. This bill would make a significant difference for those young people.”
News you might have missed from around the commonwealth
- 2 years after uproar over Va. history standards, most course guides unpublished (Richmond Times-Dispatch)*
- Virginia poised to become second state to enact law governing high-risk AI systems (National Law Review)
*This outlet utilizes a paywall.
