22Apr
Washington, DC – Common Defense, the nation’s largest grassroots veterans organization, condemned today’s failed vote to extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, warning that the decision will push many veterans and their families closer to losing the quality care they need as VA health care faces growing political and funding uncertainties.
Common Defense Executive Director and US Army Veteran Jose Vasquez said the following:
“Veterans and our families are facing a two-pronged attack on our ability to access quality care. The VA system we earned through our service is under relentless political pressure to outsource and privatize. At the same time, the civilian health care market we’re often pushed into is collapsing beneath us, with skyrocketing costs and now the latest hit: the expiration of ACA subsidies. For veterans and families who rely on a patchwork of both systems, this isn’t just policy failure. It’s a crisis. Letting these subsidies lapse means care will become a matter of chance, not a guarantee. And for a nation that promises to honor our service, it’s not only unacceptable — it’s a betrayal.”
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Common Defense Civic Engagement (501c4) (CDCE) is a grassroots, veteran-led organization that was founded in 2016. We empower veterans to stand up for our communities against the rising tide of racism, hate, and violence, to organize against the entrenched powers that have rigged our economy, and to champion an equitable and representative democracy, where “liberty and justice” truly is for all. For too long, politicians from both political parties have attempted to use veterans as unwilling political props, and Common Defense serves as a home for veterans to organize and speak for themselves and support the candidates who truly share our values.