The American Legion Strongly Opposed to President's Plan to Charge Wounded Heroes for Treatment

Source: Yahoo News

The leader of the nation's largest veterans organization says he is "deeply disappointed and concerned" after a meeting with President Obama today to discuss a proposal to force private insurance companies to pay for the treatment of military veterans who have suffered service-connected disabilities and injuries. The Obama administration recently revealed a plan to require private insurance carriers to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in such cases.

"It became apparent during our discussion today that the President intends to move forward with this unreasonable plan," said Commander David K. Rehbein of The American Legion. "He says he is looking to generate $540-million by this method, but refused to hear arguments about the moral and government-avowed obligations that would be compromised by it."

The Commander, clearly angered as he emerged from the session said, "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. 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!"

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20090316/pl_usnw/the_american_legion_strongly_opposed_to_president_s_plan_to_charge_wounded_heroes_for_treatment

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This is wrong on each and every level of which I can conceive. There is no stronger method to illustrate how you despise the serving men and women that have laid their bodies and lives on the line for the requirements of this country. You cannot put this on the backs of those who are newly injured and critically ill. As the article says, if someone who has severe burns requiring treatment is "covered" under this plan, max benefits could be awarded withing a year or two.

If this continues, he will prove every negative thing that was said in the run up to the campaign regarding his stance towards the military. Also think: perhaps there will be a just war come up. Who then, knowing he or she will be on the line to pay for catastrophic injury will sign on the line. I served over 18 years, and I would have gotten out if there was anything remotely like this, where my family would be destitute caring for me. If I am injured at work, I can sue for damages. The military is denied that luxury, however.

You want $560 million? Why don't you try trimming that fucking pork that was "too difficult" to cut from the last budget!!!

I think the Commander Rehbein has it right: get payback from Medicare for the costs of treating over age 65 vets.

Mr. Obama, or any of his aides who might come across this post, do NOT do this!

Or perhaps it's just Yahoo that does, considering it's their (unfactual) headline.

Could just be both.

The proposal is to bill vet's insurance companies.

that insurance company will be billed for the medical care that SHOULD be paid for by the government?

pays. The veteran pays nothing but maybe a small copay for medicine. Of course if the condition is service related, or meets other conditions he or she pays nothing.

I pay $8 for my prescriptions, no matter what.

I will grant the latter. There are other means to provide the former.

people read only the headline. All over TV, they are framing their reports per the headline, not per the facts.

for once they got it right

Edit: several distinct lies, actually. And the AL seems intent on promoting the lies.

I don't think it has a chance in hell of being put forward.

strengthening and fresh revisit to this area of Law.

last Tuesday. Tom Philpott, who is probably the most knowledgeable journalist covering the military, reported that Congress questioned him quite closely on this subject. It is most assuredly NOT a rumor.

I missed Rachel tonight. Is there a transcript anywhere of what was said?

it is as simple as that

As is we need NATIONAL SINGLE PAYER, not to privatize the VA

Oh and blue cross has no idea how to treat PTSD either

for the insurance companies.

The American legion also strongly opposes releasing photos of war dead coffins according to Craig Roberts. I don't want to judge the man, but this is his website:

http://www.riflewarrior.com/

I think I'll wait for more credible information and actual details of any 'plan' before assuming Obama is trying to hurt veterans. :eyes:

He wants the poor, poor insurance companies to have to help pay for the care of the people they insure. Even if they're hurt in service to their country. Of course this goes against every policy ever written, I'm sure. No wonder they're pissed as shit, and accusing Obama of wanting to charge veterans for their own care. We wants to charge the vet's INSURANCE COMPANIES for their care. How dare he?

That's what I thought - it will be a burden on the Insurance Cos. So WHY are the American Legion and so many others getting it wrong and claiming Obama will render military families destitute?

Repubs are good at getting people to vote against their best interests - heck, it's what they do. Remember Harry and Louise?

Obama's starting to sound more like Clinton every day, and I don't like it. That whole "balance the budget by fucking over the little guy" is something we just don't need.

The government, via the VA, will bill a the veterans private insurance carrier for the costs of medical treatment of service related injuries. The private insurance company ends up having a higher cost since veterans have a lot of service related injuries and will pass those costs on to the veteran in the form of higher premiums.

Insurance companies look at your overall risk. Since veterans have put their body through a lot more than about 80% of the population, they are going to have a hgiher insurance rates due to their higher risks. Especially if the insurance companies start asking about any service related injuries when veterans apply for coverage.

While the cost will effect a lot of people, the veterans will bear the brunt of higher costs.

That pays 100% of everything with no limits, no charge for the insurance and no deductibles?

If you are injured in the line of duty, it is not the responsibility of a private insurance company to foot the bill.

The person's website that you have posted is NOT the Craig Roberts that is the media relations manager for the American Legion. You are in fact not "judging the man" responsible for the press release, but some completely different individual altogether. You can't search the name Craig Roberts, post a link to the nuttiest guy's website you can find, and claim that he is the person who wrote the press release whether you agree with what the American Legion is saying or not. Please do some more research next time.

Rather it is a proposal to bill whatever insurance they have from another source.

No mandate is violated: care is provided at no cost to the vet.

You have fallen into the Republan frame on this.

will be passed on to the veterans in the form of higher premiums.

And National Guard members, it will increase the cost for the business that employed them when they got the insurance and it will increase the cost for their co-workers. It won't be "free" for the service member either.

It is merely an item for discussion.

I'm sure the American Legion arm of the Republan party appreciates your help with this bullshit meme.

.........Several veterans groups had written Obama last month complaining about the new plan.

"There is simply no logical explanation for billing a veteran's personal insurance for care that the VA has a responsibility to provide," the heads of several veterans groups said in their letter to Obama.

Despite the current economic crisis, they wrote that "placing the burden of those fiscal problems on the men and women who have already sacrificed a great deal for this country is unconscionable."

A spokesperson for America's Health Insurance Plans, a trade association, said Monday that it would evaluate any proposal that the administration puts forth. But "we don't have a position on it at this time," Robert Zirkelbach said.

Many veterans had high expectations for Obama after years of battling the Bush administration over benefit cuts and medical concerns such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

But the VA's decision to float a potential change in its policy of paying for service-related injuries could signal a quick end to the honeymoon.

"It's a betrayal," said Joe Violante, legislative director of Disabled American Veterans, which signed the letter to Obama. "My insurance company didn't send me to Vietnam, my government did. The same holds true for men and women now fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's the government's responsibility."..............


http://www.contracostatimes.com/nationandworld/ci_11929167

New rule: The Pentagon pays for the healthcare and needs of wounded vets before they get shiny new multi-billion dollar weapon systoms that we don't need.

Where was this asshole while Bush was gutting and ignoring the VA?

scandal hit the media fan? Some American Legion head.


And where was he when the Webb bill got passed, with Obama's support? I don't recall any kudos from this dishonest protector of insurance companies.

Here is the some info from the military.com reporter who covered Shinseki's testimony to Congress, that the OP mentioned:

VA already taps "third party" insurance plans for treatment of non-service-related conditions. Collections in fiscal 2008 totaled $2.4 billion. VA expects to college $2.5 billion this year. The total could jump to $3 billion next year if care of service-connected conditions are included.

Shinseki emphasized that this is only "a consideration" and not yet part of Obama's budget request. But members of the veterans' committees wanted Shinseki to know they won't support the proposal.

"Veterans with service-connected injuries have already paid by putting their lives on the line... We should take care of those injuries completely," said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.). Though she recognized that no formal proposal had yet reached Congress, Murray told Shinseki, "I can assure you it will be dead on arrival if it lands here."

http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,186747,00.html

actually put forward in the budget.

They think Obama is actually going to include it in the budget. I really hope he doesn't because it is close to political suicide.

The only think to make it worse if they tried to throw the Brady Ban in there too!

It's something that Shinseki mentioned in passing because vets brought it up at a hearing. Complete rumor. It's not part of a budget and there's nothing official anywhere that it was ever going to be considered in any budget.

What bothers me is that if it isn't really being considered, why hasn't the White House killed it. All it would take is a press release says it is dead.

As a vet, I get a little worried when veteran's organizations meet with the POTUS and then come out and say that they think the proposal WILL be considered in the budget.

The combination of the two is not good.

To discuss this policy and advocated it, this is not a rumor.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/nationandworld/ci_11929167


Vet worried about Obama plan

By David Goldstein
McClatchy Newspapers
Posted: 03/16/2009 09:38:03 PM PDT

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is considering making veterans use private insurance to pay for treatment of combat and service-related injuries.

The plan would be an about-face on what veterans believe is a long-standing pledge to pay for health care costs that result from their military service.

But in a White House meeting Monday, veterans groups apparently failed to persuade President Barack Obama to take the plan off the table.

"Veterans of all generations agree that this proposal is bad for the country and bad for veterans," said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "If the president and the OMB (Office of Management and Budget) want to cut costs, they can start at AIG, not the VA."

Under current policy, veterans are responsible for health care costs that are unrelated to their military service. Exceptions in some cases can be made for veterans without private insurance or who are 100 percent disabled.

The president spoke Monday at the Department of Veterans Affairs to commemorate its 20th anniversary and said he hopes to increase funding by $25 billion over the next five years. But he said nothing about the plan to bill private insurers for service-related medical care.

Few details about the plan have been available and a VA spokesman did not provide additional information. But the reaction on Capitol Hill to the idea has been swift and harsh.

"Dead on
arrival" is how Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington described the idea. " ... when our troops are injured while serving our country, we should take care of those injuries completely," Murray, a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, told a hearing last week.

Because vet groups have gotten all in a twist over something that isn't even being proposed.

upset about. I would also if I were a vet.

Plan. I felt it was fair and even handed.

that Obama has not even requested yet - and suddenly this is reported as an "actual proposal".

:rofl:

This place has gotten as bad as free republic.

and the Obama Admin has not said it, and then the AL comes out and says after meeting with the Obama Admin that they think it is going forward makes it a issue.

Hopefully, by this time tomorrow night, it will be a dead issue.

Nowhere. This is like every other chicken little thread that starts in the blogosphere and ends up to be a hyped up pile of nonsense. Meantime real people are really suffering from a real lack of medical care, food, housing, heat, etc. If people got this worked up about a kid not having a doctor AT ALL, we'd finally make some change in this country.

Service related conditions are our responsibility. Not the veteran, and not even their insurance company.

for something that hasn't even been proposed....and I don't care if it comes from military.com, VFW, American Legion, etc if it doesn't come from President Obama then it isn't happening.....

then it is coming from the Obama Administration.

Not trying to stir up trouble shipmate, but this is a REALLY bad idea. If it is not on the table, the White House needs to kill it FAST! Letting it linger and getting veteran organizations fired up about it, is not good.

- which would make this proposal both a non-issue and also poorly researched.

If you are a paratrooper and busted your knee on a training jump, that would not be war related. A lot of servicemen and women get seriously hurt in the military that are non-war related. They would have much higher health insurance premiums after they get out, if this proposal is implemented.

- as many times pre-existing conditions are excluded. Seems to me that the serviceman will suffer if this is implemented. Not good.

just wondering - sounds like you know

Once an individual is no longer on active duty the Veterans' Administration (VA) takes over. Generally, all honorably discharged veterans who completed 2 years or more of active duty could enroll in VA healthcare until Junior and his Bush league lapdog GOP Congress initiated means testing beginning on January 17, 2003. This means testing is so stringent that you have to be living in abject poverty before you qualify. Vets are not subject to means testing if they meet certain qualifications, such as having earned the Purple Heart.

http://www.va.gov/healtheligibility/eligibility/

I disagree with your assumption about wmbrew0206. (S)he does not seem particularly well informed concerning what appears to be a non-issue. This looks like propaganda that's been cooked up by the healthcare insurance lobby.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3786060&mesg_id=3786212

Edit:

I just ran across something very important: Obama is going to rescind the means testing I mentioned above! This is great news for vets who have been excluded by the Bush means testing!

http://www.contracostatimes.com/nationandworld/ci_11929167


Vet worried about Obama plan

By David Goldstein
McClatchy Newspapers
Posted: 03/16/2009 09:38:03 PM PDT

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is considering making veterans use private insurance to pay for treatment of combat and service-related injuries.

The plan would be an about-face on what veterans believe is a long-standing pledge to pay for health care costs that result from their military service.

But in a White House meeting Monday, veterans groups apparently failed to persuade President Barack Obama to take the plan off the table.

"Veterans of all generations agree that this proposal is bad for the country and bad for veterans," said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "If the president and the OMB (Office of Management and Budget) want to cut costs, they can start at AIG, not the VA."

Under current policy, veterans are responsible for health care costs that are unrelated to their military service. Exceptions in some cases can be made for veterans without private insurance or who are 100 percent disabled.

The president spoke Monday at the Department of Veterans Affairs to commemorate its 20th anniversary and said he hopes to increase funding by $25 billion over the next five years. But he said nothing about the plan to bill private insurers for service-related medical care.

Few details about the plan have been available and a VA spokesman did not provide additional information. But the reaction on Capitol Hill to the idea has been swift and harsh.

"Dead on
arrival" is how Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington described the idea. " ... when our troops are injured while serving our country, we should take care of those injuries completely," Murray, a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, told a hearing last week.

If so, I wonder who could be doing such a thing?

When I go to the VA clinic for my annual checkup the VA attempts to collect from my civilian insurance company as the secondary provider. I think my private insurance company has always denied the VA claims but they keep trying. The VA is doing nothing sinister when they try to collect this way.

It works the same way when an individual has private coverage with two insurance companies. The doctor bills both the primary and secondary carriers. The two insurance companies compare notes. The primary hopefully pays most of the bill, the secondary hopefully chips in a little more but usually not much. The individual pays the rest.

I'm going to go ahead and guess that Obama is proposing some stipulation where private insurance companies would not be able to deny VA claims to them as secondary carriers. If I'm right about this, the proposed measure would be highly appropriate.

They won't.

Ok....and? Health Care is not free for anyone and if they are billing the insurance companies and then the VA taking up the rest, whats the problem?

My insurance gets billed and I pay the difference. If we all can not have National Health care, then no one should.

Maybe they're afraid their premiums will go up and they'll have to actually sacrifice for the vets rather than just support them with bumper stickers.

The idea of backcharging for service related injuries is stupid, shortsighted and irresponsible.

Those veterans are injured because of the work they did at our command.

What if other employers followed our lead? "Yeah, I told you to climb that power pole, and yeah, you fell off, but I don't see that as my problem, you have insurance don't you?"

These men and women agreed to put there lives on the linei n the defense of this country. If they were hurt and need continuing care for that injury, the government should provide it, as it promised to do.

The veterans did.

This is a wrongheaded plan.

I'm all for national health care. But I'm not for fucking over veterans while we wait.

doing. On the other hand, the Obama administration seems to have mishandled their trial balloon efforts. Also, here is a certain amount of tone deafness on the part of the obamadmin in raising this in the midst of the bailouts and the AIG bonus stories.

The AL is trying to protect veterans who are going to bear the burden of this policy. To say that are trying to protect insurance companies is damn near ignorant.

The insurance companies probably are in favor of this idea. They are going to pass the extra costs on to their customers, mainly the vets. This will up their total volume, and possible their profit margin.

Today we already charge people who smoke more than non-smokers for health insurance. Tomorrow we will be charging people more for having high BMI's. Are going to add Veterens to this category people being charged extra?

Will companies along with avoiding Smokers, the Obese and older workers add Veterens to that list as well?

If approved, the fact that they shoot, jump out of airplanes and generally engage in the most risky sorts of activities is now their problem.

....to do anything.

First of all, for 35 years I have been filling out periodic VA forms to indicate if I have another health insurance plan. I always answered in the negative until I became eligible for Medicare. Then, lucky me, I had and still have two major health providers.

Back in 2002 I needed minor brain stem surgery which the VA could not handle or which the VA wanted to send me cross country to have done. I had it done in Boston at Mass General Hospital - by a world class neurosurgery team.

When it came time for the co-pay I told the doctors and the hospital to send the bills to the VA. I never heard anything thing more about the co-pays. Oh, I stopped counting when the entire billing reached over $200,000.

My brain stem problem was NOT combat or even service related. It involved a genetic defect. Medicare and the VA took care of it. In 35 years my medical care from the VA has been unflinching and I have nothing but praise and gratitude for the care I have received.

If there is a plan to reimburse the VA from whatever source, including Medicare or other insurance providers, then I say it should be discussed with ALL its details and with ALL the facts made clear to both legislators and taxpayers.

picks it up. The OP is just some right wing lies.

The source is the American Legion BWO Politico. They are a republican lobbying group, nothing more, nothing less. Politico is a republican mouthpiece.

you can put anything in a press release...when i worked at newspapers, you'd be amazed at the fun things we got from Focus on the Family and other fringe values groups about some Democratic bill that was going to outlaw christianity or something...