On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., threw his support behind U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez’s, D-NJ, “WWII Veterans Hospital and Medical Eligibility Act.”
Menendez’s proposal would “ensure all World War II (WWII) veterans have access to health care services provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)” since currently “eligibility limits in the law have prevented some WWII veterans from receiving these benefits.”
Rubio’s office noted that the proposal would reform a law from the 1990s.
The VA determines a veteran’s eligibility for cost-free health care benefits based on a variety of factors such as military service history, disability rating and income level. The Veterans Health Care Eligibility Act of 1996 exempted all Spanish American War and World War I veterans from having to meet certain requirements in order to receive VA health care benefits. The WWII Veterans Hospital and Medical Eligibility Act will extend the exemption to include WWII veterans.,” Rubio’s office noted.
“As a grateful nation, we have an obligation to honor and support our World War II veterans by providing them with the VA health care and services they need and earned,” Menendez said. “Government red tape must not keep us from fulfilling this obligation to every remaining hero. It is well past time we eliminate the bureaucratic roadblocks and truly pay our respects to the Greatest Generation who put their lives on the line to defend our freedom.”
“The men and women in uniform who fought valiantly in World War II deserve the highest standard of care and should receive VA benefits to the fullest extent they are entitled,” Rubio said on Thursday. “I am proud to reintroduce this legislation, which would remove the limitations that prevent some WWII veterans from receiving the health care benefits they are owed.”
Other backers in the Senate include U.S. Sens. Cory Booker, D-NJ, Kevin Cramer, R-ND, Steve Daines, R-Mont., Chris Coons, D-Del., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and Thom Tillis, R-NC.
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.
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