But vets said they feared they would have to pay higher co-pays, deductibles and other medical expenses.
"I think we could motivate a whole lot of them and their families who are responsible for those veterans cause if you start charging them a deductible or any expense and they don't have it guess who is going to pay for it, their children," Vietnam veteran Glen Borg said.
Over 700,000 veterans in North Carolina could have seen their VA medical benefits change with the President's proposal to save the government around $540 million.
However, some Capitol Hill lawmakers warned the White House the VA proposal would never fly in Congress.
On Wednesday, President Obama dropped the idea, to veterans' relief.
"We're put in a lot of years of stuff for this country and to know that President Obama stepped forward and done the right thing by us that just makes my year," veteran Carter Broadhurst said.
