Report: Maryland military families rely on Medicaid, critical to national security
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Republican lawmakers are considering billions of dollars in cuts to Medicaid. But a new report finds those spending cuts might impact health-care coverage for thousands of Maryland military families.
The report by the Georgetown Center for Children and Families finds more than 850,000 people enrolled in Medicaid have military health insurance, known as TRICARE, as their primary coverage. One in 10 children of service members with TRICARE is also enrolled in Medicaid.
Joan Alker, executive director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, said Medicaid is important for service members with children who require more intensive health care.
"The TRICARE benefit package just isn't enough, so Medicaid is making TRICARE work for those families by covering the high cost of services and some benefits that those children otherwise would not have access to," Alker explained.
Republicans in Congress are trying to reel in what they view as out-of-control spending by $2 trillion in the next budget. But cuts to Medicaid are not universally agreed upon among Republican lawmakers.
Medicaid also serves 40 percent of children in the U.S. with a benefit that allows them to receive preventive and ameliorative care. That benefit began after a military report in the 1960s found young men were not qualified for military service in Vietnam because of preventive medical issues during their childhoods.
Retired Army Brigadier General George Schwartz said Medicaid cuts could have a negative impact on recruiting numbers as well. If troops lack proper coverage for their families, he thinks they may seek other career paths that can provide that coverage.
"As those young people reach the age where they're eligible for military service, the military is competing with private industry and all sorts of organizations for these young people. From a mission readiness point, this is a matter of national security," Schwartz contended.
Maryland is home to more than 100,000 active-duty service members and more than 35,000 military-connected children in the state.
