Adrienne McGibbon

Richmond

News Producer at VPM

Multimedia Journalist @myVPM sharing stories about central Virginia. @CSPAN alum. Tweets are my own. DM with ideas.

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Articles

Sweeping COVID program cuts hit Virginia Department of Health

3 weeks ago | wamu.org | Adrienne McGibbon |Dean Mirshahi

The federal government is withdrawing up to $425 million in grant funding for several COVID-related programs operated by the Virginia Department of Health. The cuts have already led to ongoing layoffs and the early cancellation of existing contracts across the state. The decision of President Donald Trump’s administration to eliminate $11.4 billion in federal funding for COVID-related programs comes just a week after the nation marked the five-year anniversary of the pandemic’s beginning.
Sweeping COVID program cuts hit Virginia Department of Health

4 weeks ago | whro.org | Adrienne McGibbon |Dean Mirshahi

This story was reported and written by VPM News. This is a developing story. Please check back later for updates. The federal government is withdrawing up to $425 million in grant funding for several COVID-related programs operated by the Virginia Department of Health. The cuts have already led to ongoing layoffs and the early cancellation of existing contracts across the state.
Medicaid expansion trigger law left untouched during General Assembly

1 month ago | vpm.org | Adrienne McGibbon

Virginia lawmakers presented a compromise budget late last week that did not include a plan to directly address possible federal funding cuts to the state’s Medicaid expansion. The General Assembly passed statewide Medicaid expansion in 2018, which provides health insurance for adults younger than 65 who earn up to 138% of the federal poverty level. That law, signed by Democratic Gov.
Virginia community health centers close over federal funding access

2 months ago | vpm.org | Adrienne McGibbon

Despite pause on federal funding freeze, centers unable to access grants
Lawmakers aim to protect Medicaid expansion for thousands of Virginians

Jan 21, 2025 | wamu.org | Adrienne McGibbon

About 636,000 Virginians are at risk of losing Medicaid coverage if the federal government cuts funding for the entitlement program. But state lawmakers are trying to install some protections in the commonwealth. Sen. Creigh Deeds (D-Charlottesville) and Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D-Chesterfield) submitted a budget amendment that would remove a trigger law that automatically ends Medicaid expansion if federal funding falls below 90% of the cost to cover the expanded group.
Virginia’s deadline for health insurance extended by 1 week

Jan 16, 2025 | whro.org | Adrienne McGibbon

This story was reported and written by VPM News. Virginians now have an extra week to sign up for healthcare coverage through Virginia’s Insurance Marketplace. Kevin Patchett, director of the Virginia Health Benefit Exchange, announced the extension during a press conference Monday. The new deadline to enroll is Jan. 22. “We’ve looked at the enrollment numbers and the enrollment trends, and people are still actively engaged in enrollments,” Patchett said.
Richmond-area free clinics grapple with effects of winter storm, water outages

Jan 10, 2025 | vpm.org | Adrienne McGibbon

Click here to read the latest information on Greater Richmond’s water distribution, restroom facilities and power restoration. Hundreds of under- and uninsured people in the Richmond region weren’t able to access health care for parts of the week as many of the city’s free health clinics were forced to close their doors because of a lack of potable water. Health Brigade has been closed since Winter Storm Blair damaged city infrastructure leading to a city-wide water shortage.
Lawmakers hope to curb rising prescription drug costs for Virginians

Jan 9, 2025 | vpm.org | Adrienne McGibbon

In May of 2020, Shalonde Dozier-Calhoun, of Hampton, found out her teenage son Seth had a rare and aggressive form of kidney cancer. The Hampton High School senior had renal medullary carcinoma, an aggressive form of cancer that mainly affects young people of African descent who carry a particular sickle cell trait or have sickle cell disease. The cancer had already spread through Seth’s body, and doctors gave him just three months to live.
Senior hunger a ‘hidden crisis in the commonwealth’

Jan 5, 2025 | vpm.org | Adrienne McGibbon

Virginia lawmakers call for SNAP benefit increases as the solution.
Medicare begins covering cost of robotic exoskeletons

Oct 28, 2024 | vpm.org | Adrienne McGibbon

Ivan Vargas, a 70-year-old Richmond man, was helping his son-in-law with a home renovation project in 2020 when he fell through the home’s ceiling, suffering a T10 spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed. Four years later, Vargas is walking again with the help of a robotic exoskeleton. Previously, the cost of purchasing the device — nearly $100,000 — would have prevented him from buying it.