Half of the U.S. military bases nationwide are in 'health care deserts'

[sl8]

https://www.npr.org/2024/06/17/g-s1-4187/military-bases-shortage-health-care-troops-army-navy-marines

Half of the U.S. military bases nationwide are in 'health care deserts'

JUNE 17, 2024 5:00 AM ET
Quil Lawrence

For hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops and their families, when the Pentagon orders them to find health care off base there is none.

An NPR analysis found that 50% of active duty military installations stand within federally designated Healthcare Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA). Those are places where medical services are hard to find — commonly called “health care deserts.”

“Military members often don't have a lot of control over where they're stationed. Certainly their families don't,” says Eileen Huck, with the National Military Family Association.

“It's incumbent on the military to make sure that when you send a family to a location, the support and resources are available to take care of them. And that obviously includes healthcare,” she says.

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[Irish_Dem]

1. America's screwed up healthcare system is impacting national security.

You are not combat ready when troops and their families are sick and cannot obtain healthcare.

[Lonestarblue]

2. The military needs to start relocating all bases in areas that have inadequate healthcare.

That includes bases in red states that have abortion bans that preclude necessary reproductive medical treatment. Moving a couple of bases should send a message to red-state voters that their legislators are not serving their interests.