With several veterans standing behind him, Sen. Andrew Rice said he is seeking passage today of a bill to create an Oklahoma Veterans Health Insurance Program for those veterans below age 65 who don't qualify for free veterans health care or don't have private health insurance.
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Oklahoma has at least 25,000 veterans who have no health insurance, Rice, D-Oklahoma City, said.
It would cost $5,700 per veteran -- or a total of $90 million in a year -- to provide health care under his plan, Rice said.
He conceded it would be difficult to make that much money available for the program.
"We're going to try to get as much money as we can," he said.
Rice's Senate Bill 1458 would require veterans to pay premiums and co-payments based on their household income.
Rice said it's unfair not to help uninsured veterans get health care.
"How many of these veterans, when they were ordered into battle, looked at their commander and said, 'How much is it going to cost me?'" Rice said in a prepared statement.
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AMEN! Anything to do with veterans should be at the top of the list.
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Thank you for joining our conversations on NewsOK.com. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
Leave a comment. Log in below or sign up (it's free).Editor's note: It is not our intent to offer comments on crime or fatality stories.