State Sen. Bryce Reeves, R-Spotsylvania, is airing a television ad that inaccurately claims PolitiFact Virginia has said his opponent, Democrat Amy Laufer, “lies about health care.”
PolitiFact Virginia has never conducted a fact-check on Laufer, or mentioned her. We have, however, rated as “False” a statement on health insurance by another candidate that’s nearly identical to a claim by Laufer.
On Oct. 1, we gave the rating to Democrat Debra Rodman for saying her opponent - state Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant, R-Chesterfield - “wrote the Republican bill that would let insurance companies deny coverage for pre-existing conditions.” Reeves’s ad shows a blurry image of the fact-check with the made-up headline, “LAUFER ATTACKS ON REEVES.”
Dunnavant sponsored an unsuccessful bill in 2018 that would have expanded inexpensive, short-term health insurance policies that don’t have to cover pre-existing conditions.
But contrary to Rodman’s claim, Dunnavant’s bill wouldn’t have “let” insurance companies sell short-term plans; they were already permitted to sell 90-day policies in Virginia in accordance with Obamacare rules. Dunnavant’s bill would have extended the coverage period to comply with new federal rules - something the state regulators ended up doing without legislation.
Reeves co-sponsored the bill. In early October, Laufer sent a mailer to voters saying Reeves, “voted to let insurance companies deny care for pre-existing conditions,” and ran a TV ad with similar language.
A number of other Democrats running for the legislature this fall are making the same claim against Republican incumbents who voted for Dunnavant’s bill. We focused our fact check on Rodman because she was the first who came to our attention making the charge.
