On last Sunday, President Trump was on TV and lamented about “the disaster stories” of how veterans still have to wait for several months to health care services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The President noted that some veterans had to wait even up to 9 months to get an appointment while the condition they have is very serious. Some illness can be cured if handled in time, but then by the time they get to see the doctor it’s already in its terminal stage. The president was speaking during an interview on Fox & Friends Sunday.

But for Kelly Gregory, who is an Air Force veteran currently suffering from breast cancer which is in stage 4, the cancer has even spread to her spine, her losing access to treatment through Medicaid would be suicidal.

Gregory is one of 1.75 million veterans in the country who totally depend on the Medicaid for their health insurance. Last week, Gregory teamed up with other veterans from around Tennessee, and they called on their elected officials who are in the Senate to reject the proposed Republican health care legislation (this new legislation suggests significant cuts to Medicaid)

Gregory told the Tennessean, that if the bill is passed she will die.

Last  Friday, President Trump, who had campaigned on a promise to overhaul the troubled BA Department, signed the Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act into law — and promised to make it much easier for the whistleblowers to report cases of misconduct that occur within the agency and hence making it easy to fire employees who are not delivering and are  problematic.

“We must fulfill our duty to the nation’s veterans,” the President said during last Friday’s signing ceremony for the first of many pieces of legislation he aims to pass regarding the Department of Veterans Affairs.

However, for the many veterans in the country who are not qualified for any form of health insurance through the VA department, Trump’s act to restore faith in the VA agency was well covered by significant cuts to Medicaid included in the Senate health care bill that was unveiled last month

Approximately one in the 10 U.S. veterans depend on Medicaid for both their physical and mental health care coverage. In addition to the veterans receiving treatment for physical injuries and medical illnesses, proposed cuts also put veterans suffering from PTSD and other mental health issues at significant risk.

The retired Marine Corps Lt. Gen. John Castellaw was one of the veterans from Tennessee who opposed the suggested Senate bill last week. Castellaw described the bill to the Tennessean, as a dishonor to those who have served the nation in the service.