REPUBLICAN MEDICAID REFUSAL Leaves Over 250,000 Veterans UNINSURED

[Segami]

"..REPUBLICANS ARE DENYING CARE TO HUNDREDS OF VETERANS OUT OF PURE POLITICAL SPITE.."

Republicans sure have a lot to say about our veterans and the country's need do support them, but when it comes time to act? They filibuster funding for an expansion of their healthcare program. They also leave 258,600 veterans uninsured. That's how many low-income veterans don't have access to health care through the Veteran's Administration and don't have access to Medicaid because their Republican lawmakers have refused to take the Obamacare expansion.

"..According to a report by Pew using analysis from the Urban Institute, approximately 258,600 of those veterans are living below the poverty line in states refusing to expand Medicaid. Without veteran's benefits—and with incomes too low to qualify for subsidies to use on the state exchanges—these veterans are left without affordable coverage options..."

http://www.vox.com/2014/5/21/5738512/states-that-refuse-medicaid-are-leaving-over-250000-poor-veterans

Not all veterans can use the VA system. To be eligible, a veteran would have to have at least two continuous years of military service or have been disabled in the line of duty. Plenty more veterans don't live near enough to a VA hospital to be able to regularly get treatment there. They can be dual-eligible, getting assistance from both Medicaid and the VA, but only where Medicaid is available. And in about two dozen states, it's not. So when the Republican noise machine gets going full blast over the VA healthcare scandal, don't forget what the larger scandal is: Republicans are denying care to hundreds of thousands of veterans out of pure political spite.



http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/05/21/1301016/-Republican-Medicaid-refusal-leaves-over-250-000-veterans-nbsp-uninsured?showAll=yes

[Segami]

1. "...Nationwide, there are about 1.3 million UNINSURED VETERANS....

...In a recent report, the Urban Institute estimated that if every state embraced the new Medicaid rules, as many as 535,000 uninsured veterans and 174,000 veterans’ spouses would become eligible for Medicaid coverage.

But last June the U.S. Supreme Court, while upholding the Affordable Care Act as a whole, ruled that states were not required to expand their Medicaid programs. Twenty-three states have declined to do so, and another six have not made a final decision. In the 23 states that have rejected the expansion, there are approximately 258,600 uninsured veterans who would have been eligible for Medicaid, according to the Urban Institute report....."

http://www.pewstates.org/projects/stateline/headlines/a-quarter-million-uninsured-vets-will-miss-out-on-medicaid-expansion-85899479107

[Scuba]

2. My Governer (sic) hates veterans.

[johnnyreb]

3. OOPS!!

Kick and rec like hell for our beloved veterans and their buddies.

[tclambert]

4. "Republican Medicaid Refusal" Pithy. I like it.

Last edited Sat May 24, 2014, 02:33 AM - Edit history (1)

Sometimes branding an issue succinctly matters a great deal.

[Fred Sanders]

5. Republicans blame Obama for VA underfunding, while THEY block all funding Obama requested? And they

refuse medical insurance for tens of thousands by not expanding Medicaid? THAT is the real scandal.

But the media prefers a scandal they can speculate about and cast someone as the villain without having to do so much research as required by The Google, better for their bobble heads to fill in the endless airtime.

[11 Bravo]

6. Yeah, but they all have those cool yellow ribbons on their vehicles, so ...

quit complaining.

[johnnyreb]

7. Kick.

[McCamy Taylor]

8. K&R