VA Democrats Embrace Government-Run Healthcare and Massive Tax Increase

RICHMOND, Va., Oct. 3 -- The Virginia Republican Party issued the following news:

16 Democrat candidates for the House come out in support of single payer in Virginia --

Today, a group of 16 Democrat candidates for the House of Delegates announced their support for the both the largest tax increase and most sweeping expansion of government in Virginia history - the abolition of private health insurance and the creation of a single-payer health care system in Virginia.

Led by Democrat Lee Carter, the group has called for what is - by their own admission - a "staggering" tax hike. From their proposal:

"Bringing the function of health insurance wholly under the purview of the Commonwealth of Virginia will thus require an exercise of the General Assembly's taxation authority on a scale not seen before, an estimated increase of at least $23 billion per year."

The current biennial budget spends around $100 billion over two years. A $23 billion tax increase would add to total government spending by 46 percent! It would also put unelected bureaucrats in Richmond in charge of health care - regardless of what happened to Obamacare.

RPV Chairman John Whitbeck issued the following statement:

"This is without a doubt the most extreme, far-left proposal I've ever seen from any candidate in Virginia, let alone a group of 16 candidates working together. Similar attempts at establishing a single-payer system have failed miserably in both California and Vermont. The Democrats' plan would destroy the private insurance market in Virginia, add a new layer of bureaucracy between patients and their doctors, and then make Virginia taxpayers foot the bill!"

"If it wasn't clear to every Virginian before, it should be now: a vote for Ralph Northam, or a vote for a Democrat in the House of Delegates is a vote for government-run health care with taxpayers footing the bill."