Virginia Medicaid Dispute Is A Shutdown In The Works

If the high stakes of a fractious Medicaid expansion debate that threatens a state government shutdown weren't clear before, they were after marathon legislative debates ended Thursday with one side of the state Capitol accepting the idea and the other rejecting it.

Sharp divisions between the Republican House of Delegates and the Democratic Senate - highlighted by the day's action - set up the potential for a protracted staring contest that could delay approval of Virginia's proposed two-year, $96 billion budget to fund an array of public programs.

Virginia's next budget cycle starts July 1. Reaching that date without an approved spending plan could force the state to shutter operations.

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