Lawmakers spar over new health care bill's impact on veterans

http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/lawmakers-spar-health-care-replacement-veterans

Lawmakers spar over new health care bill's impact on veterans

By: Leo Shane III, May 4, 2017

WASHINGTON — House lawmakers passed a controversial health care overhaul on Thursday without a clear answer on what the changes could mean for veterans. Republicans maintain that the new law won’t affect any veterans’ access to health care and related tax credits. But Democrats insist that it could jeopardize access to care for millions of veterans nationwide, and labeled it an embarrassing mistake for Congress. “This is not fear mongering, this is not hyperbole,” Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., and a member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said before the vote. “This bill jeopardizes health care for up to seven million veterans, and everyone should oppose it.”
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One of those early changes in March stripped out language specifically stating that veterans who were eligible for VA medical services but not enrolled in them would be eligible for health care tax credits. Republicans have called the language superfluous, saying that existing Internal Revenue Service rules have already established that.
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But Democrats have countered that the IRS rule only applies to the Affordable Care Act, not the new health care bill, and removing the language took away their tax credit eligibility. House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Tim Walz, D-Minn., called the situation “absolutely shameful.” “We were loud and clear about the disastrous impact AHCA could potentially have on millions of veterans when the bill was brought up for debate in March,” he said. “Unfortunately, House Republicans never listened to our warning, and as a result, if this deeply flawed legislation passes as it is written, millions of veterans and their families could have diminished choice in where to seek care.”
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Officials from Paralyzed Veterans of America earlier this week announced their opposition to the new health care bill, in part because of concerns that it could leave millions of veterans ineligible for the tax credits.
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The fight is likely to continue in the Senate, where a number of Democrats have already decried the potential negative impacts of the new plan for veterans. Under current Senate rules, Republican leaders will need at least a few Democratic supporters to force a full-chamber vote on the legislation.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., said she'll make the veterans issue a key point in her fight against the legislation. "I'm surprised there wasn't a fix (by Republicans)," she said. "For people who say they want to help veterans, I've not seen any evidence of it."