Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed an executive order Tuesday directing her administration to take additional steps to protect Virginians who could lose access to Medicaid and food assistance under President Donald Trump’s sweeping federal spending law.
Executive Order 20 establishes the “Keep Virginia Covered” policy, which directs the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to limit the impact of changes to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, included in H.R. 1, Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
More than 1.8 million Virginians are enrolled in Medicaid and nearly 800,000 receive SNAP benefits.
The order directs state agencies to keep eligible Virginians enrolled in the programs, reduce administrative barriers to enrollment and renewal where federal law gives the state flexibility and connect Virginians with employment, workforce development and other economic mobility resources.
The administration will also look for alternative ways to provide health care and food assistance by establishing public-private partnerships to help fill gaps created by reduced federal funding.
“At a time when rising costs — made worse by chaos coming out of Washington — are squeezing families across the Commonwealth and the country, President Trump and Republicans in Washington chose to make the largest cuts to healthcare and food assistance in history,” Spanberger said in the announcement. “These critical programs are not only essential to the health and economic well-being of Virginians, but to Virginia’s economy.”
Spanberger said the federal law will change Medicaid and SNAP eligibility and administrative requirements, potentially causing Virginians to lose coverage or food assistance.
“While the Commonwealth will not be able to fill the entirety of the gap created by these federal cuts, I am directing my Administration to use every tool available to protect Virginians,” Spanberger continued.
Nationwide, H.R. 1 cuts Medicaid spending by an estimated $1 trillion over the next decade. Virginia is expected to lose between $1.8 billion and $2.6 billion in federal funding each year beginning in 2028, according to the Spanberger administration. The state says that figure could be significantly higher depending on additional federal rules proposed by the Trump administration.
The order builds on more than $500 million included in Virginia’s 2026-28 budget for health care-related investments.
That includes $150 million for a new premium assistance program designed to help Virginians obtain affordable coverage through the health insurance marketplace, $225 million in a federal contingency fund and $15 million for federally qualified health centers, free clinics and outreach workers.
Health and Human Resources Secretary Marvin Figueroa said the state will focus on making it easier for Virginians who remain eligible to retain their benefits.
“Families are already stretched. Losing help with groceries or health care only makes things harder,” Figueroa said. “Washington changed the rules for Medicaid and food assistance. Yes, our job is to carry out the law. But our job is also to cut down on paperwork and confusion where we can and help people who still qualify keep food on the table and keep getting the health care they need. How well we do this depends on how well we come together.”
The executive order comes after Virginia launched locality-level dashboards showing how federal changes are expected to affect Medicaid and SNAP, including the impact of new Medicaid work requirements.
The administration emphasized that the executive order will not allow Virginia to replace all of the federal funding being lost under H.R. 1.
Instead, it directs state agencies to use the flexibility available to the commonwealth under federal law to prevent eligible Virginians from losing benefits because of administrative or procedural barriers while helping others transition to alternative sources of health care, food assistance or employment support.