Center for American Progress

Why repealing ObamaCare will be devastating for America’s veterans
In the News

Why repealing ObamaCare will be devastating for America’s veterans

Author Lawrence Korb discusses how the Senate Republican health care bill would strip veterans of essential health benefits.

Veterans and their families have made tremendous sacrifices for our country. Yet despite President Trump’s vow to “take care of the [v]eterans who have served this country so bravely,” new analysis by the Center for American Progress reveals that Trump and House Republicans are on the verge of taking healthcare away from an estimated 441,300 of America’s veterans who rely on Medicaid. And the proposed Senate bill—which makes larger cuts to Medicaid in the long term—would ultimately lead to even larger losses.

Every year, nearly 200,000 people leave active duty military service to begin their transition back to civilian life as veterans. Despite common misperceptions, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) does not cover the healthcare needs of all of the nation’s 20 million veterans—and it certainly does not sufficiently provide care for the health needs of veterans’ families.

The above excerpt was originally published in The Hill. Click here to view the full article.

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Authors

Lawrence J. Korb

Former Senior Fellow