PS: This *may* be her TikTok ID on BlueSky - @bunchesofbeggs.bsky.social. Ms. Dempsey-Beggs - if this is actually you, let us know!

Ms. Dempsey-Beggs is now one of eight people running for the Democratic Party nomination to compete against Rob Wittman. We look forward to hearing more from her! /end

According to LinkedIn, Ms. Dempsey-Beggs is currently Director of Client Relations at Ernest, a Richmond packaging company. Her TikTok account (@bunchesofbeggs) has almost 90,000 followers. She also links to currently inactive Facebook and Instagram profiles, both @elizabethforvirginia. 3/

She lists affordability, healthcare, military and veterans, social justice, and public safety as her top issues, and says she will be running a grassroots campaign focused on service driven leadership, integrity in government, the needs of the next generation, and adherence to the “Golden Rule”. 2/

Mel Tull and Jason Knapp, too, of course! But they’re not on BlueSky so we can’t tag ‘em…

Now why are you tagging us on this?

OH RIIIIIIIIIGHT!

While he postures as a protector of rural Virginia, Wittman’s claims are deliberate disinformation that conceals how he, the Trump regime, and Republicans in Congress are crucifying healthcare to deliver tax breaks to the wealthy. /end

The fact is, because of HR1 VA faces $1.7 billion in rural Medicaid cuts, Virginia hospitals will lose up to $26bn, and 55,500 people will lose coverage. 8/

Wittman mentions a 2021 study; this was done by JAMA, and he fundamentally misrepresents its findings! It examined Medicaid expansion effects, not cuts - he’s cherry-picking to suit his narrative, and it doesn’t wash. 7/

Because of HR1, 300+ hospitals face closure risk, and three rural Virginia clinics have already announced their closures. *The impact of HR1 is already being felt - and it hasn’t really kicked in yet!* 6/

The $200m for CMS he mentions is for a competitive grant. States will have to apply for that money - taking up more time and resources from state budgets - and it won’t even start to address the problems HR1 creates. 5/

Then he claims HR1 will "prevent rural hospital closures”. Fact: HR1 cuts Medicaid to the bone. The $50bn Rural Health Transformation Fund was primarily a Dem Party idea to soften the blow of other HR1 provisions but even that will cover only 1/3 of expected $137bn in rural losses. 4/

Wittman wants to give you someone to hate while he shovels our money to his donors’ pockets. The stuff about “able-bodied adults” and immigrants is inflammatory nonsense. Medicaid fraud is mostly committed *by the providers*, not consumers. Illegal immigrants have NEVER received Medicaid services.3/

As we’ve documented multiple times, HR1 cuts $1.2 trillion from safety net programs, with $50.4 billion specifically from rural hospitals. 1.8 million rural Americans will lose coverage. But Wittman’s wealthy donors are getting tax breaks, so let that comfort us as we die from the flu! 2/