47,000: Protecting Medicaid for Virginia Veterans

Medicaid provides a critical source of health coverage for military veterans, regardless of TRICARE enrollment. But proposals moving through Congress could threaten access to care for veterans across the country. In Virginia, nearly 1 in 13 veterans (47,000) access health coverage through Medicaid, which covers services that TRICARE does not. It’s especially helpful in meeting the needs of children who require specialized health care, including home and community-based services.

In the video above, Yusun Beck of Virginia Beach and Dr. Joan Lingen of Onancock share how cuts to Medicaid could harm veteran families. Beck is an Air Force veteran who relies on Medicaid for his health care, while Lingen is a Navy veteran whose patients include several of the 47,000 Virginia veterans who are enrolled in Medicaid – and whose health care access would be at risk under the House bill.

These individuals may be adults working low-wage jobs, caring for a loved one at home, or in between jobs, just like hundreds of thousands of individuals in Virginia who access coverage through Medicaid and Medicaid expansion. Any cuts to Medicaid or Medicaid expansion could have devastating, and potentially abrupt, impacts on the commonwealth’s service members, veterans, and their families.

In mid-May, the House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced more than $715 billion in cuts to health care programs — the vast majority of which would come from Medicaid. In Virginia, 147,000 working people would see new out-of-pocket costs in the form of up to $35 co-pays, while 206,000 people would be kicked off Medicaid entirely, according to an analysis by The Commonwealth Institute. Additionally, some members of Congress are looking to cut federal funding rates for Medicaid, including Medicaid expansion, which would end Virginia’s Medicaid expansion program and rip away health coverage from over 629,000 people in Virginia. Speaker Mike Johnson has set a target of passing the bill out of the full U.S. House of Representatives before members leave for Memorial Day.

Categories:
Budget & Revenue, Health Care