Sen. Cantwell: Trumpcare Medicaid Cuts Hit Veterans in Every State

VANCOUVER, Wash., June 20 -- The office of Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., issued the following news release:

Today, following a press conference on the issue, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) called attention to a new study that shows the disturbing effects that making sweeping cuts to Medicaid, as proposed by President Trump and Congressional Republicans, could have on American veterans. The study, published by Families USA and VoteVets.org, breaks down the number of veterans in each state that depend on Medicaid for health care.

Nation-wide, there are some 1,764,000 veterans that are covered by Medicaid. Every state has a substantial population represented, from 3,000 in the District of Columbia and Wyoming to 110,000 in Florida and 183,000 in California. In Washington state, there are 56,000 veterans covered by Medicaid.

"As these numbers show, cutting Medicaid breaks our promise to America's veterans. We are calling on the administration and Senate Republicans to abandon their damaging and draconian cuts to the Medicaid program and the programs that they have suggested in the Trumpcare act," said Senator Cantwell.

In Vancouver, Senator Cantwell joined local providers, patient and veterans' advocates, and a veteran Medicaid recipient to call attention to the damage the Republican Trumpcare plan would do to the state's veterans.

As the study notes, not all veterans are eligible for health coverage through the Department of Veterans Affairs, making Medicaid a critical health care lifeline for veterans. A variety of factors determine if a veteran qualifies for VA health coverage, including length of service, disability and discharge status. In addition, many veterans are not able to access VA health services, like those in rural areas who do not live near a VA clinic or provider.

The full study can be found here.( http://familiesusa.org/sites/default/files/product_documents/Medicaid-Veterans_Factsheet_final.pdf).