GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham, Bill Cassidy, Ron Johnson, and John McCain (L to R) could be taking health care away from veterans.

This is a timely new study for all those patriotic, veteran-loving Republican senators who might be tempted to support another vote on Obamacare repeal: it would leave many veterans uninsured and put additional strain on the VA medical system.

In 2013, while the Affordable Care Act that passed in 2010 was still being implemented, 9.1 percent of veterans under 65 were uninsured. That fell to 5.8 percent by 2015—a drop attributed to Medicaid enrollment facilitated by the ACA. A repeal would reverse those gains, and the recently proposed GOP policy would lead to more veterans losing insurance than gained coverage under the ACA, according to the study by policy researcher Rand Corp. Some of those veterans would turn to the VA for health care, adding stress to those facilities, said Michael Dworsky, a Rand economist and the study’s lead author. “There may be concern over the spillover effects we estimated because, in some places, the VA system has had issues with capacity,” he said. […] Many veterans who would lose coverage wouldn’t be eligible for VA health care. Rand estimated that in 2015, only 56.8 percent of veterans under 65 would qualify for VA care. Some eligible veterans already use a mix of health care options, including those who live far from a VA facility. They rely on Medicaid for at least part of their care, the study found.

It would be nice to think that that would be enough for Republicans like Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), arguably our most famous veteran, to put an end to this now, before another vote. If you live in Arizona, you should make sure he knows about this.

JAM THE PHONE LINES. Call your senator at (202) 224-3121 and tell them to just stop playing with our lives. (After you call, please tell us how it went.)