Veteran advocacy groups are urging the Albanese government to dump a proposed cap on allied health services for former defence force personnel, warning the move will be a "death sentence".
The federal budget, handed down in May, includes $169.7 million to increase allied health provider fees from July to address outdated fee schedules.
In a bid to claw back savings, the government is cutting more than $779 million over the next four years. A $5000 annual limit on allied health services for veterans will be introduced under changes Labor says will prevent overcharging.
The group of veterans was joined by politicians including Greens senator David Shoebridge, independent David Pocock, and coalition senator Paul Scarr at Parliament House on Monday, calling for the government to abandon the cap.
Andrew Hudson, a former special forces soldier whose military career spanned decades, said the cap would leave many veterans untreated or out of pocket.
"This has created uncertainty within the veteran community, uncertainty about the future ... that uncertainty, unfortunately, will lead to deaths," he said.
"It is a death sentence for many people."
Tim Nelson, a GP and veteran, said through the changes, the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) was controlling the way veterans were going about their compensation claims.
Dr Nelson said it would "impede on veterans' lives, their transition to normal life, and their psychological wellbeing".
Women Veterans Network Australia President and navy veteran Melanie Annand said ex-serving personnel were being pushed to see contracted DVA medical practitioners, rather than their own.
"As a female veteran, it is important that we need to feel safe with the provider that we are seeing," she said.
"We shouldn't be pushed to see someone that we have no relationship with."
Opposition defence personnel spokesman and Afghanistan veteran Phil Thompson said there was no reason why Veterans' Affairs Minister Matt Keogh shouldn't be meeting with the coalition of veterans to discuss their concerns.
"To refuse a meeting to me is a kick in the shin and a punch in the guts from a minister who's failing at his job," he said.
"On this arbitrary number that's in the budget, I couldn't care less if it cost more. I don't care if it went up. It shouldn't be a saving on veterans' health."
It is understood Mr Keogh's diary was already booked out when the meeting request from the veterans was made last week.
The minister said veterans will continue to have access to allied health services above the $5000 threshold where there is a clinical need.
"The government's priority is ensuring veterans receive high-quality care that supports their health and wellbeing, not limit their access to treatment," he told AAP.
