Republicans think they can sell Medicaid cuts by painting people on Medicaid as lazy moochers. The fact that most able-bodied adults in the program already have jobs won't stop them. And, hell, nothing will stop them, but their Medicaid cuts would also hit a group Republicans claim to care about: veterans. A Center for American Progress analysis finds that nearly 460,000 of the 1.8 million veterans now covered by Medicaid would lose their coverage.
- Just three states and the District of Columbia would see fewer than 1,000 veterans kicked off of Medicaid under the Republican plan.
- In eight states, the number is between 10,000 and 25,000.
- In California, Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina, the number would be more than 25,000.
- In Texas, a whopping 72,800 veterans would lose their health care thanks to the Republican Medicaid cuts.
And by the way, that’s not the only way Trumpcare would hurt veterans, as CAP points out:
The House and Senate proposals also both betray veterans by permitting states to make changes to essential health benefits. These changes would reduce current protections for veterans with pre-existing conditions—including service-connected disabilities such as spinal cord injuries, amputations, and post-traumatic stress disorder—and result in large increases in medical costs for some veterans and their families.
But don’t expect Republicans to care about the concrete harm their bill would do to veterans any more than you should expect Republicans to keep beating their flag-pinned chests and claiming to care about veterans The Most.
The end of Medicaid as we know it? No exaggeration. The Senate version of Trumpcare has worse long-term cuts to Medicaid than the House version, to pay for tax breaks to the wealthy. Call your Republican senator at (202) 224-3121, and give them a piece of your mind. Tell us how it went.