WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, released the following statement after the U.S. Senate voted 55-43 to confirm Alex Azar to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS):

“I voted against Mr. Azar’s nomination to be Secretary of Health and Human Services because of his support for dismantling the Affordable Care Act – which would leave millions of Americans without access to affordable healthcare coverage. While I did not support his confirmation, I intend to work with Secretary Azar on areas where we can find common ground to improve our healthcare system, including rethinking our healthcare payment system and finding new ways to treat those with chronic health conditions. ” 

In 2016, almost 400,000 Virginians purchased health insurance through the federal insurance marketplace. The same year, Virginia received about $4 billion in federal Medicaid funds, 51 percent of the state’s funding for people covered by Medicaid. Of those who purchased their own insurance on the marketplace, 84 percent received tax credits reducing their premium costs anywhere from $50 to $100, and more than half – 60 percent – received cost-sharing payments to help defray other out-of-pocket costs. Following an announcement by the White House last year that it would stop Cost-Sharing Reduction (CSR) payments, Sen. Warner raised the alarm that this action would increase American’s healthcare premiums by more than 20%. Sen. Warner remains committed to working for responsible improvements to the Affordable Care Act, recently introducing legislative proposals aimed at providing greater stability to the healthcare markets. 

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