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LOUDOUN NOW: Wexton Invites Loudoun Woman to State of the Union to Highlight Healthcare

Rep. Jennifer T. Wexton (VA-10) invited Ashburn healthcare advocate and mother Walewska Watkins to be her guest at the State of the Union address Tuesday, Feb. 4.

Watkins is the mother of an 8-year old autistic boy named Aire. According to Wexton’s office, Watkins and her family depend on the Affordable Care Act to get Aire the care he needs, relying on the act’s affordability measures and protections from discrimination for preexisting conditions.

Watkins and her son are active members of theLittle Lobbyists, a group advocating for children with complex medical needs and disabilities like Aire.

Wexton said sheinvited Watkins to highlight her story and the those of families across Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, where more than 365,700 constituents live with preexisting medical conditions.

“Walewska’s story illustrates the challenges that so many families in my district are facing,” Wexton stated. “Right now, health care is under attack by this administration and costs are at a record high. Health care is a right—it’s why I’m fighting every day in Congress to make it more affordable for all Virginians and to safeguard protections for people with preexisting conditions.”

“Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, my family has been able to provide my son with the care he needs to live a healthy and happy life,”Watkins stated in a release from Wexton’s office. “We desperately need to strengthen and expand the ACA, not scrap it. Without protections for preexisting conditions, families like mine simply wouldn’t be able to get by. Kids like Aire need the ACA to survive and thrive. Every time CongresswomanWextonvotes to protect our care, she’s working to save the lives of kids like mine.”

Wexton’s first constituent meeting as a member of Congress was with the Little Lobbyists, which included Walewska and Aire, and she said she has advocated for children with complex medical needs and disabilities.

In May, Wexton authored an amendment to call attention to the impact that junk insurance plans have on children with complex medical needs. She also organized a “Congressional Playdate Made Possible by the ACA,” and in December she hosted a “story time,” to raise awareness of the health care needs of families like the Little Lobbyists.

Watkins, originally from Puerto Rico, is an attorney who lives in Ashburn with her son and husband, who is a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard. Watkins is also a partner in Policymaking at the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities and a member of the Virginia Latino Advisory Board.

Wexton has focused on healthcare in her first term, voting in favor of 11 bills so far, most recently theElijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, legislation that would give Medicare the power to negotiate directly with drug companies to bring down prices.

On her first day in Congress,Wexton also voted authorize the general counsel of the House of Representatives to enter the legal battle over the Affordable Care Act, opposing the Trump administration’s efforts to repeal the act.