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Senate bill kicks 14K state veterans off coverage

The Mountain Press - 6/24/2017

Submitted

The Senate health care bill will kick more than 14,000 Tennessee veterans off of Medicaid, according to a new analysis by the Center for American Progress.

"I am one of those veterans covered by Medicaid. Cuts to Medicaid would directly impact the life-saving care I receive," said Kelly Gregory, an Air Force veteran and cancer survivor from Hendersonville. "As a terminal cancer patient, there is no private market insurance available to me.

"I volunteered to enlist in the United States Air Force. It was a privilege to defend my country. Serving my country is one of the greatest honors of my life. I am now asking the citizens of this state and Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker to come to my defense. I need you to fight for me the same way I fought for you."

Gregory was among the Tennessee veterans who gathered outside the Veterans Administration hospital in Nashville immediately after the Senate bill was released Thursday to plea to Sens. Alexander and Corker not to cut their health care.

It's a common misconception that all veterans get VA benefits, but that's not the case, said 36-year Marine Corps Veteran Glad Castellaw.

"Many veterans fail to meet eligibility requirements for VA healthcare benefits, or have health needs that the VA does not completely cover," Castellaw said. "As a result, about 1 in 10 veterans use Medicaid as their primary source of health care, and many more use Medicaid to supplement VA care. The existing Affordable Care Act provides funding to states for Medicaid expansion, significantly improving healthcare prospects for veterans. A recent study found that this expansion reduced uninsured veterans by 42 percent between 2013 and 2015."

Cutting care for veterans would break President Trump's promise to care for veterans, and would disproportionately harm voters in places that supported him.

"Even without Medicaid expansion in Tennessee, 43,000 Veterans rely on TennCare for their coverage," said Bob Tuke, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. "Many more have been able to get coverage through the exchange. Cuts to both of these programs will raise the number of uninsured veterans."

From the office of Alliance for Healthcare Security