CULPEPER STAR-EXPONENT

U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger will host a telephone town hall from 6:45 to 7:45 p.m. Wednesday with Virginia Health Commissioner M. Norman Oliver to discuss challenges facing Central Virginia patients and health-care providers as the COVID-19 crisis continues.

Constituents can phone in to listen or participate. The live event will also be streamed on Spanberger’s website and Facebook page.

Spanberger and Oliver will deliver updates on Virginia’s current COVID-19 situation, and answer questions from 7th District residents about the state and federal responses to the coronavirus pandemic.

Spanberger also will answer questions about her work in Congress to protect coverage for Central Virginians with pre-existing conditions and lower drug costs for 7th District seniors and families.

“As our nation experiences surges in COVID-19, we need to take responsible steps that protect our most vulnerable neighbors, keep our healthcare workers safe, and make sure our small businesses can reopen without putting their employees and customers at risk,” Spanberger said in a statement. “In recent weeks, I’ve listened to healthcare providers and experts describe their concerns about continued PPE shortages, rising prescription drug costs, and the need for strengthened federal assistance for nursing homes and community clinics.”

To join the interactive telephone town hall, dial 855-920-0555. To listen live to the conversation, Central Virginians can visit https://spanberger.house.gov/live or Spanberger’s Facebook page during the event.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Wednesday’s telephone town hall will be Spanberger’s seventh free, public telephone town hall focused on the impacts of the virus on Central Virginia families, businesses and seniors.

Last month, she hosted a virtual telephone town hall with U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14), Virginia Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer Janice Underwood and VCU Massey Cancer Center Director Robert Winn to discuss the pandemic’s disproportionate impacts on minority communities in Central Virginia and across the country. Click here to watch a full recording of the event.

Last month, Spanberger voted with a bipartisan majority of the U.S. House of Representatives to pass legislation that would protect health-care coverage for millions of Virginians with pre-existing conditions, reduce premiums and lower prescription drug costs for Central Virginia seniors and families.