By James Lee, Results.org
When I joined the U.S. Air Force, I was proud to serve. I believed in the promise this country makes to its service members: that if we serve our nation and our communities, we earn the opportunity to build a better future for ourselves and our families.
For most of my life, I’ve done exactly that. I’ve worked hard, paid my taxes, and served my country and community. I never once thought I’d need programs like Medicaid. But now, at 64 years old, facing health challenges that come with age, I see how important these programs are, and how quickly they can be taken away.
The budget reconciliation bill Congress passed and that was signed into law in July puts North Carolinians like me at risk, including thousands of veterans. The bill includes deep cuts to Medicaid, a program that has now become essential as I search for affordable healthcare and support.
The truth is, many veterans fall through the cracks. Here in North Carolina, over 50,000 veterans depend on Medicaid. Many live in rural areas where VA (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs) care isn’t easily accessible. Others are aging, managing mental health or other service-related injuries, and realizing the country we fought for doesn’t always catch us when we fall.
Medicaid fills the gaps for veterans who can’t access VA care, for those whose private coverage falls short, and for families facing medical costs they never expected. Nationwide, nearly 1.75 million veterans depend on Medicaid, and hundreds of thousands more live in households where Medicaid supports their spouses or children.
I served to protect the well-being of everyone in this country, especially my fellow veterans. That includes ensuring that when people face health challenges, they can access the care they need. That’s why watching Congress push through a bill that jeopardizes this lifeline feels like such a betrayal.
Every Republican member of North Carolina’s U.S. House delegation voted to pass this reconciliation bill, while every Democratic representative voted against it. In the Senate, I was glad to see Sen. Thom Tillis vote against this bill and stand with veterans.
His vote shows that protecting the public isn’t a partisan issue—it’s about doing what’s right.
But I was disappointed to see Sen. Ted Budd support the bill, despite clear warnings about how devastating these Medicaid cuts will be for North Carolina veterans, working families, and rural communities.
N.C. Gov. Josh Stein was right to sound the alarm. In his letter to Tillis and Budd in June, he explained how these Medicaid cuts would kick nearly half a million North Carolinians off their healthcare. Unfortunately, too many lawmakers ignored that warning.
When I served in the Air Force, I was proud to put my blood, sweat and tears into defending the rights of every American. I still believe our leaders have a responsibility to protect those rights. That includes the right to affordable healthcare and support when we need it most. By cutting Medicaid, Congress has turned its back on all the veterans who served to protect the American Dream.
Most of the Medicaid cuts have been delayed until 2027 and beyond. Some members of Congress think we’ll forget about the cuts, but we won’t. As we look toward the midterm elections, we’ll remember the choices they made and hold them accountable.
Let’s look at it as an opportunity: Congress now has time to reverse this disastrous decision before cuts go into effect.
Veterans kept our promise to serve this country. It’s time for Congress to keep theirs.
James Lee lives in Charlotte, N.C., and is a father, veteran who served in the Air Force from 1979 to 1986, and advocate with RESULTS, a national anti-poverty organization. This column was produced in partnership with RESULTS and is syndicated by Beacon Media. It is available to republish for free on all platforms under Beacon Media’s guidelines.