Healthcare

A Personal Note from Breanna: I’ve Walked in Your Shoes

"Healthcare isn't just a political debate for me; it's personal. Growing up in foster care, I experienced firsthand how difficult it is to access reliable, continuous healthcare. Throughout my university years and into post-grad life, I faced the exact same barriers so many working families face today: navigating confusing insurance systems, delaying care due to costs, and carrying the heavy financial strain of essential medical procedures that required significant out-of-pocket expenses.

I know what it feels like to worry about whether you can afford the care you need. I’ve faced these challenges head-on, and I know how deeply the burden of medical debt impacts families. That experience is why I’m running to lower healthcare costs in Richmond: because no one in Arlington should ever have to choose between their financial stability and their health."

Key Legislative Priorities

Breanna will push five targeted legislative initiatives tailored specifically to the needs of Arlington and Northern Virginia:

1. The Behavioral Health Workforce & Accessibility Act

Breanna Fights For, "Expanding Care, Cutting Red Tape, Lowering Costs."

Over 3.2 million Virginians live in areas without enough mental health professionals. Because complex licensing rules and low insurance reimbursement rates keep many therapists out of network, families are forced to pay high out-of-pocket session fees for mental healthcare.

• What it does: Expands Virginia’s participation in multi-state licensing compacts (like the Counseling Compact and PSYPACT), creates student loan repayment grants for clinicians committing to three years in public-sector or rural school roles, and mandates insurance reimbursement for supervised pre-licensed clinicians.

• Why it matters: It instantly expands the pool of available mental health providers across Virginia, reduces wait times, and lowers out-of-pocket costs by bringing more therapists directly into insurance networks.

2. The Foster Youth Trauma Therapy & Seamless Access Act

Breanna Fights For, "Uninterrupted Healing and Specialized Care for Virginia's Foster Children."

Policy Gap & National Context: Under federal law (the ACA) and Virginia Medicaid, youth aging out of foster care retain Medicaid coverage up to age 26. However, children currently in care experience severe administrative churn. Every time a child changes foster homes across county or city lines (moving between Arlington, Fairfax, or Alexandria), local social service systems stall their therapy prior-authorizations. Furthermore, commercial health plans rarely cover trauma-informed specialized care, and current state laws do not guarantee immediate access to specialized outpatient trauma therapists without months of bureaucratic review.

• What it does:

  • Establishes a "Continuous Therapy Guarantee" ensuring that when a child in foster care shifts placements across Virginia localities, their existing therapy authorizations and assigned mental health providers transfer instantly without re-screening.

  • Creates an Immediate Trauma Therapy Fund under Virginia Medicaid that automatically pre-approves up to 24 sessions of specialized, trauma-informed outpatient therapy (such as EMDR or TF-CBT) upon entry into foster care.

  • Extends state-funded Medicaid reimbursement rates for specialized child and adolescent trauma therapists to 150% of standard rates, incentivizing private trauma specialists across Northern Virginia to accept foster youth as patients.

• Why it matters: It eliminates red tape that cuts vulnerable children off from their trusted therapists during placement transitions, guarantees immediate mental health support during trauma, and expands the pool of high-quality trauma specialists willing to treat foster youth.

3. The Urban Safety-Net & Hospital Fee Protection Act

Breanna Fights For, "Protecting Community Clinics and Banning Surprise Hospital Fees."

Low-income, immigrant, and working-class families, concentrated heavily along Columbia Pike and South Arlington, rely on vital safety-net providers like the Arlington Free Clinic and Neighborhood Health at Sequoia Plaza. When routine care isn't available locally, crowded emergency rooms drive up costs for everyone, while hospitals tack on unexpected fees.

• What it does: Increases direct state operating grants for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) like Neighborhood Health to expand evening and weekend hours; prohibits Northern Virginia hospital networks from charging surprise "facility fees" for basic outpatient care or lab visits at off-campus clinics; and partners with Arlington Public Schools (APS) to set up school-based health hubs.

• Why it matters: It keeps non-emergency visits out of expensive hospital ERs, lowers start-up costs for community care, and eliminates predatory facility fees on routine medical bills.

4. The Maternal Health Equity & Postpartum Care Act

Breanna Fights For, "Ending Deductible Traps and Safeguarding Birthing Families."

Families in Arlington on employer-sponsored high-deductible plans frequently face $2,500 to $4,000+ in out-of-pocket costs for standard prenatal care and delivery. Furthermore, stark racial disparities persist across Northern Virginia, where Black and Latina birthing parents experience disproportionately higher rates of pregnancy complications.

• What it does: Bans state-regulated health insurers from splitting pregnancy care across two calendar year deductibles; expands Medicaid and commercial insurance coverage for community doula support while granting birth workers essential status at hospitals like VHC Health and Inova; and mandates $0 co-pay coverage for 12 months of postpartum mental healthcare, lactation support, and pelvic floor therapy.

• Why it matters: It stops insurance companies from double-charging families for a single pregnancy, expands access to trusted birth workers, and eliminates out-of-pocket expenses for vital postpartum care.

5. The Healthcare Price Transparency & Data Modernization Act

Breanna Fights For, "Clear Prices, Seamless Care, Zero Hidden Fees."

In Arlington, health records rarely sync across regional health systems, leaving patients trapped in the middle. When providers can’t share basic medical history, local families are routinely subjected to, and forced to pay twice for, costly, redundant bloodwork and diagnostic scans. Meanwhile, opaque billing practices make it nearly impossible for consumers to compare healthcare prices upfront.

• What it does: Mandates that all practices and pharmacies connect seamlessly to Virginia's Health Information Exchange (VHI) network, modernizes state public health data tracking, and establishes a public consumer portal on Virginia’s All-Payer Claims Database (APCD) to publish clear cash prices and insurance rates for common procedures.

• Why it matters: It stops patients from paying twice for repeated lab work and imaging, empowers consumers to price-shop for common care before receiving it, and helps the state target public health crises before they result in expensive hospitalizations.

Lowering Out-of-Pocket Costs for Families

Breanna's comprehensive approach to healthcare affordability focuses on removing hidden financial burdens:

• Eliminating Surprise Medical Bills: Ensuring that patients are protected from unexpected out-of-network fees and hidden facility surcharges during routine visits.

• Affordable Prescription Drugs: Capping out-of-pocket prescription costs for life-saving medications like insulin and asthma inhalers for state-regulated plans.

Stand With Us

All Virginians deserve affordable, top-tier healthcare without the fear of financial ruin. Breanna is ready to stand up to corporate health system monopolies, cut through red tape, and lower costs for families across our Commonwealth.