Injured Vets May Get the Shaft by Obama

Juggernaut · #1 (**permalink**) 03-17-2009, 10:59 AM

Just read this today from the Fox News website:

President Obama's plan to require private insurance carriers to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs for the treatment of troops injured in service has infuriated veterans groups who say the government is morally obligated to pay for service-related medical care.

Calling it a "desperate search for money at any cost," Craig Roberts, media relations manager for the American Legion, told FOXNews.com on Tuesday that the president will "wish away so much political capital on this issue" if he continues to insist on private coverage for service-related injuries.

Cmdr. David K. Rehbein of the American Legion, the nation's largest veterans group, called the president's plan to raise $540 million from private insurers unreasonable, unworkable and immoral.

"This reimbursement plan would be inconsistent with the mandate 'to care for him who shall have borne the battle,' given that the United States government sent members of the Armed Forces into harm's way, and not private insurance companies," Rehbein said late Monday after a meeting with the president and administration officials at the Veterans Affairs Department.

"I say again that The American Legion does not and will not support any plan that seeks to bill a veteran for treatment of a service-connected disability at the very agency that was created to treat the unique need of America's veterans," Rehbein said.

Roberts said that 11 veterans service organizations were told to come up with another plan if they didn't like this one. The groups met on Monday with Obama, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki and Office of Management and Budget defense spending chief Steven Kosiak.

"What we've been tasked with now is to raise this money through alternative means and we're supposed to have a conference call in two or three days ... with Rahm Emanuel. So the implication was ... you guys come up with a better idea or this is what's going to happen," Roberts said.

A call to the White House was not immediately returned. But a summary of the proposed budget says the president wants to increase funding for VA by $25 billion over five years, and bring more than 500,000 eligible veterans of modest income into the VA health care system by 2013.

"The president's avowed purpose in doing this is to, quote, 'make the insurance companies pay their fair share,'" Roberts said. But he said it will raise premiums, make insurance unaffordable for veterans and impose a massive hardship on military families. It could also prevent small businesses from hiring veterans who have large health care needs, he said.

"It's not the Blue Cross that puts soldiers in harm's way, it's the federal government," Roberts said, adding that the American Legion would like the existing system to remain in place. Service-related injuries currently are treated and paid for by the government. The American Legion has proposed that Medicare reimburse the VA for the treatment of veterans.

He said that the argument about the government's moral obligation to treat wounded soldiers, sailors and Marines fell on deaf ears during the meeting.

"The president deflected any discussion when it got into any moral issue here," he said. "Any attempt to direct the conversation (to the moral discussion) was immediately deflected."

Private insurance is separate for troops who need health care unrelated to their service. But Roberts noted that if a wounded warrior comes back and needs ongoing treatment, he or she could run up "to the max of the coverage in very short order," leaving his family with nothing

Roberts added that how the plan would raise $540 million "is a great mystery and it seems to be an arbitrary number. ... The commander said it seemed like this phantom number."

Monday's meeting was preceded by a letter of protest earlier this month signed by Rehbein and the heads of 10 service organizations. It read that "there is simply no logical explanation" for the plan to bill veterans' personal insurance "for care that the VA has a responsibility to provide."

The letter called it "unconscionable" to shift the burden of the country's "fiscal problems on the men and women who have already sacrificed a great deal for this country." Rehbein testified to both the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees on those same points last week.

THIS IS APPALLING!!!!!

I hope the people who voted him into office are happy!

Fred Douglass · #2 (**permalink**) 03-17-2009, 12:03 PM

....went to such lengths to steal and hide military absentee ballots in Flodda!

"Ah just LOATH-TH-THHHHH the militarah...!" (Bill Clinton)

Now that sidewalk "organizer" who was somehow elevated to the White House (thereby cutting its real estate market value immensely) is going to recommence the UTTERLY PREDICTABLE Liberal trashing and starving of the military......

Who'da thunk it? Well, I would have, for one!

Fordzilla · #3 (**permalink**) 03-17-2009, 12:09 PM

I can not post here what I would like to say about this as it would be removed by the mods

SP01715 · #4 (**permalink**) 03-17-2009, 02:22 PM

Lets give health care to illegals for free, but injured war vets have to pay. This is terrible.

cobra de capell · #5 (**permalink**) 03-17-2009, 03:20 PM

Is it time for this, with a happier ending?

There is no other reason for this other than sick liberal minds trying to sabotage the system intentionally in order to use our warriors in the military who defend our freedoms as a tool to advance a socialized universal healthcare agenda.

427 S/O · #6 (**permalink**) 03-17-2009, 04:12 PM

Count me in with Mick............

vegasmike · #7 (**permalink**) 03-17-2009, 04:12 PM

We all knew this guy was dangerous. The real problem is that we won't know to what extent until it is too late.

427 S/O · #8 (**permalink**) 03-17-2009, 04:19 PM

McCain voice should have been heard by now?, where the he$$ is he?.

Tangible Toys · #9 (**permalink**) 03-17-2009, 04:30 PM

And why doesn't this surprize me!! Next we'll have to give up a portion of our tax refund to support the "ALIEN MEDICAL COVERAGE" as we pay thru the nose for some what of coverage!

Roscoe · #10 (**permalink**) 03-18-2009, 06:12 AM

Don't get me started......

Semper Fi
DAV - Life Member

Roscoe

Joe Wicked · #11 (**permalink**) 03-18-2009, 10:10 AM

My disability is more like a sports injury, and was corrected by doctors on the outside after I was forced out medically, but I still find this appalling. Stop paying for Free Medical for illegals and you will come up with more money than that.

Hammer65 · #12 (**permalink**) 03-18-2009, 11:37 AM

It's about time that the most of the American public begin to understand that nowhere in the definition of "charismatic" does the word "intelligent" appear.

Fred Douglass · #13 (**permalink**) 03-18-2009, 11:42 AM

......McCain's heaving repeated (daily?) sighs of relief! Ar-ar-ar!

SP01715 · #14 (**permalink**) 03-18-2009, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 427 S/O

McCain voice should have been heard by now?, where the he$$ is he?.

On Hannity last night McCain said it would not happen when asked about vets having to pay for health care. I don't know how much juice the Senators that agree with him have. We will have to wait and see I guess. Hopefully some of the Dems would try and block this as well.

427 S/O · #15 (**permalink**) 03-18-2009, 01:38 PM

Good to hear McCain spoke up, even though, I don't believe 'Americans' would let that happen.....

bdeutsch · #16 (**permalink**) 03-18-2009, 02:19 PM

Written by VFW Commander...

Premise is almost to the point of being unbelieveable....I really want to give our new President a chance, but increasingly it is looking like it is no more/less than business as normal under a Democratic administration.

Roscoe · #17 (**permalink**) 03-18-2009, 05:24 PM

The point is that "The One" actually thought of this just in term of how much money the gummint would make. I think it's not only appalling it gives me insight into his mindset.

Roscoe

427 S/O · #18 (**permalink**) 03-19-2009, 05:30 AM

As I understand form last nights news, it's off the table. I guess we should have known it would never happen, but this guy is a joke and holds nothing sacred.

Roscoe · #19 (**permalink**) 03-19-2009, 05:48 AM

It's all about money, power and control......

I'd buy ammo if your store is not out of stock....

Roscoe

Ron61 · #20 (**permalink**) 03-19-2009, 07:05 AM

Roscoe,

I saw yesterday that he has now made it against the law for the military to police their brass and sell it to the ammo manufacturers. He has decided along with Pelosi that will stop them from making ammo to sell to the public. What he hasn't figured out yet is since he has ordered it destroyed, they won't be able to make any for the military either until his bill is amended. More of his open and transparent Govt. in action. What a waste of skin and other body parts that could have been used to make real people.

Perry,

He is not a leader, has never done anything but what people tell him to do and has to have a teleprompter to even make the most minor statements. He probably has one in the White House Toilet with instructions of what to do scrolling across the screen. I doubt if that was his idea but probable was from Pelosi or one of her minions and he just goes along with anything.

Ron