VFW Leader Asks Republicans to Support Vets thru Medicaid Expansion

The following press release was issued jointly by The Offices of the North Carolina Senate and House Democratic Caucuses.

RALEIGH — The call for Medicaid Expansion in North Carolina got a new voice recently. The North Carolina Department of Foreign Wars wrote to legislative leaders asking them to support our veterans by closing the coverage gap.

“We trust in your commitment to supporting our veterans,” Commander Victor Letourneaut wrote, “and respectfully ask that you take advantage of the opportunity before us to expand Medicaid eligibility.”

The letter was sent to President Pro Tem Phil Berger, Senate Rules Chair Bill Rabon, and Senate Majority Leader Kathy Harrington; as well as to House Speaker Tim Moore.

Letourneaut outlines the growing crisis of uninsured veterans in North Carolina who fall into the coverage gap. With an estimated 30,000 veterans and 23,000 military spouses and children in the coverage gap, “challenges are growing more acute for these families given the on-going coronavirus pandemic,” the letter states.

“Our veterans are part of North Carolina’s heritage, and a vital part of our communities,” said Senator Ben Clark, a Hoke County legislator who is also an Air Force veteran. “They supported our country, and now it’s time for legislators to support.”

Clark sponsored Senate Bill 402, which will expand Medicaid in North Carolina.

“We cannot continue to allow 30,000 veterans to go uninsured especially when insuring them comes at no additional costs to our taxpayers or our state,” said House Democratic Leader Robert Reives. “The time could not be better to fulfill our obligations to these brave men and women.”

Letourneaut urged the leaders of the General Assembly to expand Medicaid, “not only to more veterans but to their family members, children and neighbors so they may live their lives with respect and dignity.”