Trump Administration’s Executive Order Sparks Controversy Over VA Healthcare
A new executive order signed by President Donald Trump has stirred significant concern by allowing healthcare professionals at Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities to deny care based on a patient’s marital status or political affiliation.
Originally issued on January 30, the order was designed to reduce the availability of gender-affirming care for transgender veterans. However, as detailed in a recent report by The Guardian, its ambiguous wording has prompted some VA hospitals to advise that care can be refused to any demographic not explicitly safeguarded by federal legislation.
Current federal civil rights laws explicitly protect against discrimination based on race, color, religion, and sex.
“Trump’s VA just allowed doctors to deny care to Democrats, unmarried veterans, among other groups,” stated a spokesperson for VoteVets, an advocacy organization. “It’s unethical, authoritarian, and every one of us should be outraged.”
In addition to physicians, the order permits chiropractors, nurse practitioners, and social workers at VA facilities to withhold care.
This policy shift coincides with ongoing negotiations by President Trump and Republican lawmakers on a tax and budget bill aimed at slashing at least $625 billion from Medicaid. Nearly 2 million veterans depend on Medicaid for their health coverage.
According to projections from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the proposed Medicaid reductions could result in at least 7.6 million Americans losing health insurance. The cuts also threaten the financial stability of numerous rural hospitals, many of which rely heavily on Medicaid funding, putting them at risk of closure.
About one-quarter of all veterans reside in rural regions, amplifying the potential impact of these healthcare changes.
VA press secretary Peter Kasperowicz did not challenge the findings reported by The Guardian. However, a White House-affiliated social media account labeled the report a “vicious lie.” No specifics were provided to clarify alleged inaccuracies in the report.
Washington Senator Patty Murray, a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, denounced the policy as “disgusting.”
In a statement, Murray asserted, “President Trump is going out of his way to discriminate against veterans and ripping up the sacred contract we make with our veterans that we will take care of them when they come home, and that they are entitled to the best health care our nation has to offer. This is bigotry, plain and simple, and it cannot be allowed to stand—and I sincerely hope my Republican colleagues would agree.”
Attempts to obtain a response from a White House spokesperson regarding the order were unsuccessful.
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