Dems Fuming Over White House Plan To Make Vets Pay For Service Injuries

Democrats in Congress are organizing to squash a White House proposal that would require veterans to use private insurance to pay for treatment of their combat and service-related injuries.

In a letter being sent to the White House, a group of House Democrats, led by Rep. Glenn Nye (D-VA), warned that such a proposal "could harm our veterans and their families in unintended, yet very serious ways, jeopardizing their families' health care and even negatively affecting veterans' employment opportunities."

"While we strongly support your plans to increase funding for the VA by $25 billion over the next five years," the letter reads, "it is with equal conviction that we oppose the proposal to bill veterans' private health insurance plans for care and treatment of service-connected injuries or disabilities."

Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.) is leading a similar effort in coordination with Nye. Her letter is even more forcefully worded, calling the White House proposal "deeply troubling" and charging that it "ignores the mission of the VA."

"We cannot compromise on the promise we have made to those who serve our Nation," Kirkpatrick states.

Additionally, in a statement to the Huffington Post, Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, one of the foremost champions of veterans' concerns in the Senate, called the issue of outsourcing health coverage from the VA a non-starter.

"Treatment for service-connected injuries is clearly within the responsibility of the U.S. government through the Department of Veterans Affairs -- period," Webb said.

The Obama administration has insisted that they are non-committal when it comes to a final decision on the actual policy, and White House officials will meet for the second time with veterans groups on Wednesday.

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During his press conference on Tuesday, spokesman Robert Gibbs pointed out the president has pledged an "11 percent increase in the discretionary spending" in the VA budget.

Veterans "can have confidence that the budget the president has proposed represents an historic increase in discretionary spending to take care of our wounded warriors," said Gibbs. "[T]his president takes very seriously the needs of our wounded warriors that have given so much to protect our freedom on battlefields throughout the world."

Veterans groups say they're concerned that the Obama proposal could ultimately lead to the privatization of health care for returning soldiers, and note that third-party billing for war-related injuries could result in ballooning insurance costs.

While giving the administration the benefit of the doubt that they may dismiss the proposal, Jon Soltz, executive director of VoteVets, nevertheless offered preemptive disappointment.

"We don't know if this is going to be the proposal, or if it is a serious consideration or not," he told the Huffington Post. "So, it's premature to go to the White House with pitchforks at this point. That having been said, if it is proposed, we would be opposed, and can't imagine any veterans group that would be for it. There's no appetite for it on the Hill, either. There are ways to eliminate waste at every level of government, though, including the VA. I think we'd all like to sit down with the administration and find areas of the VA budget that are redundant or wasteful, to make sure every dollar spent there is necessary."

Here is the full letter being circulated by Rep. Nye:

March 17, 2009 The Honorable Barack Obama President of the United States The White House Washington, DC

Dear Mr. President,

We first want to take this opportunity to thank you for the clear commitment your administration's budget outline makes to our nation's veterans. The proposed 10 percent increase in discretionary funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for next fiscal year is truly historic. We believe the 2010 budget will ensure the VA never again faces the chronic under-funding that prevented countless veterans from receiving the health benefits they have earned.

While we strongly support your plans to increase funding for the VA by $25 billion over the next five years, it is with equal conviction that we oppose the proposal to bill veterans' private health insurance plans for care and treatment of service-connected injuries or disabilities.

We do not give our veterans health care - they earn it - and it would be unacceptable for the VA to ask our veterans to pay for the treatment of injuries received while serving our nation in uniform. That responsibility belongs to the VA, and it would be wrong to outsource the responsibility of covering the care of those veterans to private insurance companies.

Additionally, this proposal could harm our veterans and their families in unintended, yet very serious ways, jeopardizing their families' health care and even negatively affecting veterans' employment opportunities. Billing a veteran's private health insurance for the treatment of service-connected injuries could lead to increased health care premiums, and could potentially discourage employers from hiring veterans.

We know you are committed to expanding employment opportunities for veterans. Already this year, your administration and Congress have worked to create countless jobs for veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but this proposal would undermine our efforts.

We urge you to take this proposal off the table, and let us instead focus on ensuring that our veterans receive the full care and benefits they have earned. The moral obligation our nation has to our veterans demands nothing less. We are happy to discuss these issues with you further as we move toward a final budget for the VA.

We would like to thank you again for your commitment to improving care for the men and women who have borne the battle, and who have sacrificed their health and well-being in serving their country. Thank you for your service to our nation.

Comments

[FZliveson]

If this is true it is straightens my Obama question mark into an exclamation point.
Veterans have always gotten splinters from the short end of the stick.
My best friend of my whole life was a Purple Heart, Green Beret from 'Nam
He had PTSD and got skimpy treatment and ended up in a suicide. Devastating.
Read "Flashback" by Penny Coleman to see what an uphill battle the veterans have to
fight for a miniscule percentage of what taxpayers pay for the bombs,
private contracts and corrupt waste in Iraq and Afghanistan.
This is one of a few litmus tests of my view of Obama's presidency.

[FZliveson]

RED HERRING! RED HERRING Watch out, folks.
The AIG "thing" is probably the reason for it.
I have heard that AIG is insuring the congressional pension plan.
All those bonuses would be recoverable in a chapter 11 bankruptcy.
However the value of the federal pensions would plummet.
Now if you were in congress, wouldn't you like a titbit like veterans'
health to come up just at the right time to draw attention off the issue?
We need to have a wider angle of view on how we look at problems.
So often we get jerked around by the minutia, when it is the big picture
that is truly important at the end of the day.

[StringOfLights]

The insurance companies would probably just say that being a soldier is a preexisting condition.

[scooperss]

"On Monday, President Obama told the groups that the government could save $540 million by making veterans use their private insurance for all medical care. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) told VA Secretary Eric Shinseki last week that if such a plan were to come up on Capitol Hill, it would be “dead on arrival.” In the follow-up meeting Thursday with President Obama's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, the VSOs are expected to discuss alternative options including billing Medicare for an eligible veteran's coverage."

http://iava.org/blog/iava-daily-brief-031809

[JulieSA]

Why don't they just take out of the stimulus bill the $4 billion that's going to community organizers like ACORN, and use that for our vets?

[realpolitic]

Julie, your statement about ACORN funding is just a right-wing talking point. It shows you do not care about the troops, but just want to make cheap political points that have no founding in reality!

[Pleneras]

3rd party hearsay.

[MenaC]

No, no, no! Our un-injured veterans are being laid off while serving us, returning home with no jobs, no benefits...And now the INJURED veterans may have to pay? "Thanks so much for going overseas for the never-in-your-lifetime-ending war. We honor you for taking that bomb hit by handing you your new insurance card. Don't worry; the deductible is only $2000. Welcome home!" Ludicrous.

[whosyourdaddy]

I am beginning to change my mind a little on this issue.
I suppose I'd have to admit, if I'm being reasonable... thatit is possible that some republican hacked into his teleprompter and made him say these things.
Could happen I suppose.

[CrzyRussell]

That is pretty funny.

It is hard to blame this on the Republicans when it came from O's lips!

[IamPhenom]

Came from O's lips? Are you kidding? Read the story. The Obama administration does not even have a set plan yet. They are still meeting with vet groups and lawmakers to put together the policy.

Everyone needs to chill the out. Obama is INCREASING VA funding. They just wonder whether private insurance plans many people have should also carry some of the burden. After all, the vets and their current employers are paying hard-earned money for those private plans.

[FZliveson]

I don't buy the tele-prompter caper..."O" is a
Harvard professor, after all.
Could be subterranean reptilians though (:>).

[unprofor]

Conspiracy theorists should take a chill pill. It's on record that GEN Shinseki testified before Congress that the Obama administration is considering the proposal to require veterans' to use private insurance for service related injuries and health problems. Key word is considering. Whenever you look at problems all courses of action should be put on the table and considered. Many courses of action will be thrown out if they are not feasible, acceptable, or suitable. This course of action should be thrown out as being neither acceptable or suitable. In due time I hope that we hear this coming from GEN Shinseki. I think it is very appropriate for individuals to speak out on one side or the other, but let's make sure we are speaking from an intellectual starting point and not an emotional one. In may opinion, the country owes it to our veteran's to ensure that they are taken care of for service related injuries. If we don't want to use the VA system, then we as a government should pick up the veteran's health care insurance and send them to private facilities. One way or the other it is our duty to take care of the veteran's, not the insurance companies and certainly not the individual veteran.

[Roguewolf]

I think what angers most Veterans, including myself is that he would even consider such a proposal. It violates the sacred trust between the government and its military. If you read the letter from the American Legion you will see why it is wrong financially. But the bottom line is that is wrong to even consider doing this to the people who have already scrificed so much for this nation.

[MoeB]

True, but I think Obama is reasonable. If we made our issues with this known, and this is sounding like it's being rejected already on CH and even in the *gasp* Senate (by dems). That's all good news for those of us who would be against such a measure.

[lfotweaker]

i think you"re a budding conspiracy theorist, since you consider all options.

[FZliveson]

CONSPIRACIES are commonplace nowadays.
Our society has changed from being law-abiding and God-fearing, to
where people act (or not,) based on the cost/loss ratios of being a defendant
in court. Who goes to jail for high-level corporate crimes today? (almost nobody)
There is more money made daily in corporate crime than all the bank heists in
the history of mankind. Where people meet for self-benefit and stretch
the rules, there are conspiracies. It's only called "conspiracy" if a prosecution
is initiated. Otherwise; "It is just business, you understand?"

[1differentdrummer]

Reading the article is a good thing to do before commenting.

[whosyourdaddy]

This must be the single most astonishing bit of group think-denial I have ever seen.
With few exceptions, it seems entirely impossible to view the issue with any intellectual integrity on the far left.
I am waiting for one of you to insist that a republican used some sort of evil republican power and forced poor Obama's mouth and lips to move and say these dumb, ill advised things entirely against his will. It ought to be coming along any second now.

[FZliveson]

whosyourdaddy....laugh or lead. You are astute, experienced and have wisdom.
Don't get pulled down into the mosh-pit. You already took away the teleprompter argument.
C'mon, play fair!

[sonofsamphm1c]

Look dude, you are spewing lies. This proposal in no way changes the nation's commitment to treating veterans who have service-related injuries. It actually enhances the nation's ability to do that.

[Right-turn]

Universal healthcare for bums and drug addicts, but let's leave out our combat injured soldiers.........

That is CHANGE alright. One Term.

[1differentdrummer]

I get it, you either didn't read the article or you really want to confuse the issue. Which is it, troll?

[sonofsamphm1c]

All lies all the time.

[Jim238]

"Even IAVA is outraged about this, and they're a Dem org. " Rieckhoff generally does a great job but he hasn't had much talk show time lately. He's jumped way too far out in front and is being premature in his assessment. He's not lying, he's mis-reading and being premature.

[JulieSA]

Obama discussed this with him in person. I think Reickhoff knows what he's talking about. He's not stu pid.

[scooperss]

http://iava.org/blog/iava-daily-brief-031809

On Monday, President Obama told the groups that the government could save $540 million by making veterans use their private insurance for all medical care.

[sonofsamphm1c]

This is hogwash. The proposal does not require veterans to buy private heal insurance.

It only effects veterans who have service-related injuries, and also have private health insurance. They can still go to VA. The VA will treat them. All that changes is their private health insurance, which they paid for, will be asked to pay the VA for part of the treatment.

Why do you want their private health insurers to get off scott free?

[Jim238]

"Yes, that's what he did. Sorry, but it's a fact." Baloney! Since Reagan the government has looked at using 3rd party insurers to help with medical bills and in fact, priority group 8 has just been given greater access to government assistance. It's not new. The fact that the WH may be looking at 2, 10, 200 possibilities in no way says that Obama has 'in fact' decided to bill private insurers for combat related injuries. Someone says the sky is falling in and the idiot faction starts setting off alarm bells.

[whosyourdaddy]

The "idiot" faction consisted of the 11 major veterans organizations speaking face to face with him. Voluntarily give up a limb or two, then compare veterans being upset about this to Chicken Little.

[JulieSA]

Obama told the vet groups this in person. You can deny it all you want, but this is Obama's proposal. The VA has been charging insurance for non-service related problems, but this new proposal to charge for service-related injuries is beyond the pale.

Paul Riekhoff of IAVA: “I was honored to meet with President Obama at the White House today. IAVA applauds the record increase in veterans’ health care funding in the President’s budget, and his focus on timely implementation of the new GI Bill. However, we are disappointed to hear that the Administration is still considering a third party billing option,” said IAVA Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff. “Veterans of all generations agree that this proposal is bad for the country and bad for veterans. If the President and the OMB want to cut costs, they can start at AIG, not the VA.”

"Gardner, [head of VFW] a Vietnam veteran from Round Rock, Texas, is greatful for the president's willingness to sit down and address the issue face-to-face, but he said after yesterday's meeting that "the VFW still believes that the proposal is clearly the wrong thing to do."

Rehbein of the American legion: "President Obama made clear during our discussion that he intends to force private insurance companies to pay for the treatment of military veterans with service-connected disabilities."

[eahce]

Now that's change.

[Knowitall]

Everybody CALM DOWN........This will never happen. I smell a hugh Republican neocon snake in the woodpile on this one. Notice that they are conspicuously silent so far on this issue. They're probably waiting for Democrats and veterans to get all worked up in a lather on this, and then jump in.

Do you REALLY think that Pres. Obama would (with his wife, Michelle,publically advocating for military families) propose a huge increase in spending for the military, especially for healthcare, and then turn around and ask returning veterans to pay for it???? Do you REALLY think he's that cold and devious??? Do you REALLY think he is, frankly, that stupid???

One of the demographics that the Repubs see slipping away is the military. They have to do something to turn them against this new administration, while keeping their hands clean. I don't believe this was ever a serious proposal by either side. But what better way to get this issue out in the public while keeping your hands clean initially, than to have a few naive and grandstanding Democrats put it out there first.

Once again, we could be seeing Democrats cutting off their noses..........forming a circular firing squad.......self destructing.........throwing out the baby with.............jumping to conclusions.......being snookered..........hoodwinked.........bamboozled..........falling for the Okey Doke..............

[Tdani37]

No I don't. This does stink to high heaven

[JulieSA]

You're in denial. Obama met with the vet groups and told them in person that this is what he wants. Do you think the "neocons" hacked into Obama's Blackberry and fed him talking points or something?

[whosyourdaddy]

The republicans used to be concerned about the military/veteran vote.
Not anymore.

[JulieSA]

"Do you REALLY think that Pres. Obama would (with his wife, Michelle,publically advocating for military families) propose a huge increase in spending for the military, especially for healthcare, and then turn around and ask returning veterans to pay for it????"

Yes, that's what he did. Sorry, but it's a fact.

[powerlift2201]

He hasn't done a thing so it isn't a fact. Obama's administration is considerin, considering privatizing military insurance but still retains the ability to reject the (as it is so far) idea. Obama would first have find someone to author a bill. Then it would have to pass the house and senate.

[hjfraser2002]

Nothing has been done and at least one of the sources is questionable.

[ssmack]

What a complete buff oon! Obama is self-destructing before our eyes.

[CrzyRussell]

Maybe Obama misspoke when HE met with the Veterans groups.

[JulieSA]

"President Obama made clear during our discussion that he intends to force private insurance companies to pay for the treatment of military veterans with service-connected disabilities."

--American Legion commander Rehbein

[CrzyRussell]

If we were illegal aliens than we wouldn't be having this problem right now.

[JillQ]

The American Legion endorsed McCain. I find anything he says suspect. Find your own facts, such as: where is the official White House "proposal?"

[booker52]

My spouse is a disable Vet and this is so wrong on all levels. He uses the local VA clinic for most of his care. We are lucky to have private insurance as well as Medicare. To ask him now to have our private insurance billed for care received at the VA clinic is just wrong.

[sonofsamphm1c]

No, it's right. Why should your private carrier get off for free. They do not discount your premium because your husband gets assured care for service-related injuries at the VA.

Why should they get to charge the same premium, and have it all go to profit?

[mssinger]

No, there is no discount from private insurers. There IS however, a large price tag associated with pre-existing conditions!