Proposed Health Care Bill Potential Loss of Medicaid Benefits for Veterans

Tampa, FL (Law Firm Newswire) July 31, 2017 – Veterans face the prospect of being deprived of several of their health benefits as lawmakers seek to make drastic reductions to Medicaid in the proposed health care plan.

According to a recent report issued by Families USA and VoteVets, approximately 1.7 million veterans across the nation, and nearly 120,000 in Florida, depend on Medicaid for their health care. A co-author of the report, Andrea Callow, who is the associate director of Medicaid Initiatives, said that veterans frequently confront complicated medical problems arising from their service, such as mental health illnesses and chronic pain.

Callow further states that intensive services that are required to treat veterans’ medical conditions will likely be the first to be eliminated because they tend to be costly. Just 40 percent of veterans in Florida are participants in VA health plans, and several veterans have difficulty obtaining care because of a lack of transportation and waiting lists. According to Jerry Green, the Florida director of outreach for VoteVets, close to 45,000 military veterans would be deprived of their Medicaid coverage if the bill passes.

Florida veterans’ disability attorney David W. Magann says, “If the bill is enacted into law, many veterans will be in peril of losing their Medicaid coverage.” “This will prove to be very costly for veterans who are afflicted with severe medical conditions, such as traumatic brain injuries and musculoskeletal disorders.”

According to Republicans, their plan to give Medicaid block grants would offer states greater flexibility in distributing those funds. However, detractors of the plan claim that a lump sum would place a considerable restriction on what the state can accomplish. One such critic is Karen Clay, who is a member of the board of the Florida Alliance for Assistive Services Technology.

Clay has a son who requires round-the-clock care because of his disabilities, which are given to him at home with the use of a Medicaid waiver. She states that making reductions to Medicaid would considerably impact people in his situation, as well as many veterans who sustained injuries. She predicts that people will no longer have the ability to remain in their homes, reside in their communities, and that the country will revert to the days of care provided by institutions and the resulting death of patients.

Florida is not among the states that have extended eligibility for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. However, approximately four million Floridians receive their health care through Medicaid, including 19 percent of the seniors in Florida and 48 percent of its children.

Learn more at http://www.tampaveteranslawyer.com/ David W. Magann, P.A. Main Office: 156 West Robertson Street Brandon, FL 33511 Call: (813) 657-9175 Tampa Office: 18715 N Dale Mabry Hwy Lutz, FL 33548