Medicaid growth would aid vets

Though they have served their country and are eligible for health benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs, a new study shows that 1.3million U.S. veterans, including 11,000 in Arizona, are uninsured and an estimated 40percent of them are poor enough to qualify for Medicaid.

Another 2,000 Arizona veterans would be eligible for the state-federal health-insurance program if the state agrees to Medicaid expansion under the federal health overhaul, according to the study released this week by the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The analysis also shows Medicaid expansion would extend health coverage to an additional 61,000 veterans' spouses who are uninsured, including 1,300 in Arizona whose incomes put them between 100percent and 133percent of the federal poverty level.

Ten percent of uninsured veterans would qualify for Medicaid without expansion, according to the study, compared with an estimated 40percent if states broaden eligibility. In states that forgo expansion, a so-called doughnut hole in the Affordable Care Act would leave childless adults below the poverty line without access to Medicaid or subsidized coverage in the online insurance exchanges.

"As with the general population, uninsurance among veterans and their family members is related to greater problems accessing care," the study said.

Gov. Jan Brewer cited the report Tuesday as another reason for state lawmakers to approve Medicaid expansion. The issue has caused a Republican Party split in states across the country and Brewer is struggling to cobble together enough GOP votes to get her proposal through the Legislature.

"It is unacceptable to me that so many of our veterans who honorably served this nation would be without access to basic health care," Brewer said in a statement. "With my (Medicaid) plan, we have an opportunity to provide basic, cost-effective care to the men and women who have sacrificed for this nation. This is our chance to throw them a lifeline."

Veterans are eligible for health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs, but according to the analysis, many are uninsured because they don't have access to facilities in their area or are unaware that they qualify for health coverage.

Some also miss out because the VA gives care first to higher-priority veterans, including military retirees and those with service-related medical conditions.

Most of those eligible under Medicaid expansion would remain uninsured in states that fail to broaden eligibility.

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