For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2005

Contact:

Michael Allen
(202) 225-2701

WASHINGTON D.C. - Rep. Dan Boren said today that he will fight a proposal in the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2006 budget that would require veterans who receive service at V.A. facilities to pay more for health care.
If approved by Congress, the proposed budget cuts would require a $250 annual enrollment fee that would affect single veterans with non-service related injuries earning more than $25,800 – and those earning $36,215 who come from a four-person family.
Under the proposed figures, prescription co-payments would increase to $15 from $7 for both individuals and families. A veteran who fills three prescriptions per month would now pay $540 a year, as opposed to $250 under their current co-pay - “a substantial hardship for a veteran on a fixed income,” said Boren.

The lawmaker says he will fight the proposed cuts. “I will oppose any budget measure that raises the health care costs of our veterans,” said Boren.
“It is important that we move toward fiscal accountability, but we cannot balance the budget on the backs of our veterans. The enrollment fee is a tax on veterans and could force many in my district off the V.A.’s annual medical rolls,” explained Boren.

“We are already seeing increases in V.A. waiting lists and waiting rooms – a line must be drawn here. Our veterans deserve respect and honor, not higher co-pays,” said Boren.
According to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, more than 2 million veterans would have to pay more for their health care if Congress approves the Administration’s V.A. budget. The Veterans Affairs Department estimates about 213,000 veterans now in the system would leave the rolls if Congress approves the fee increases.

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