In one of Obama’s more disgraceful maneuvers to date, The Messiah is putting cost savings ahead of America’s obligations to those who have made the utmost sacrifice to their nation.
WASHINGTON, March 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — 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!”
Not only is this a slap in the face to our wounded vets, but there are practical problems with the plan which could impact the care being afforded, not just the vet him/herself, but their families. Fellow CWA! poster, Lowman S. Henry ,explains:
Moral issues aside, there are many pragmatic problems with such an approach. First, assuming members of the military will be able to obtain private insurance coverage under such conditions, there are such factors as deductibles, co-payments and coverage limits that would add to the individual veteran’s personal costs. For veterans with policies that cover their families, benefits could be exhausted by the veteran leaving family members without health care.
And then there is the financial impact on insurance companies. The Obama plan would add $540 million in expenses for health insurers, who along with everyone else are already suffering financially due to the economic recession. Forcing private insurers to pick up the government’s tab for veterans’ health care will trigger an increase in premiums, specifically on veterans but also generally on all policy holders. It would be, in effect, a hidden tax hike. That, or private insurance companies will go insolvent and join the line for a government bail-out.
On another note, this story reminded me of 2 others from the past. More recently, during last year’s election, many Democrats tried to attack Sarah Palin by tying her to a policy in Alaska that billed rape victims’ insurance companies for forensic tests tied to their investigation (a story that was not entirely true I might add). While these 2 situations are different – our government has a duty and obligation to our veterans – let’s just see if the Left cries foul over Obama’s policy.
Similarly, I will be waiting for those liberals who said they were outraged over the state of our VA hospitals during George Bush’s term to also speak up vociferously in opposition to this. After all, if they truly care for our vets then it matters not who our President is.
Of course, I won’t be holding my breath.
). But you have to admit it’s amazing how one little blogger just futzing around on the Internet could cause a tremor that reached the biggest media outfits in the country.
