Bits And Pieces

Will Obama Go AWOL on VA Health Benefits? - WSJ.com

'If you were injured in Iraq or Afghanistan and you have not paid your co-pay, please press 1. If you were injured during military training and you have not yet reached your deductible, please press 2. If your family has reached its maximum insurance benefit, please call back after you have purchased additional coverage. Thank you for your service."

Before the leaders of other veteran's groups and I met with President Barack Obama at the White House on Monday, I believed a phone call like the one described above unimaginable. Now it seems all too possible.

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. He is trying to unfairly generate $540 million on the backs of veterans.

The proposed requirement for private companies to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) would not only be unfair, but would have an adverse impact on service-connected disabled veterans and their families. Depending on the severity of the medical conditions involved, maximum insurance coverage limits could be reached through treatment of the veteran's condition alone. That would leave the rest of the family without health-care benefits.

One of the implied - and explicit - promises made when you go into the military is that they'll take care of you if you get hurt. (When I entered the AF in '74, that was expressed as lifetime medical care in VA facilities.) Well, with one thing and another, that's kind of been diluted. You've got other programs, such as TriCare, you've got VA facilities available if you qualify, and now... this.

The buzz around the office, even from vets who supported Obama, is that this is a serious F'ing mistake. And really, it is. I've been looking at what's going on in Washington with a bit of humor (it's much better than screaming or depression...) and a move like this is so tone-deaf that it's almost unbelievable.

Even a blogger on the Huffington Post is saying it's a dumb move.

It really makes you wonder what's in store for NEXT week.

J.