Here we go again....a proposal for vets to pay for service related injuries

0 Kudo

Forum Jump

Author	Comment
eagle7	Here we go again....a proposal for vets to pay for service related injuries	Lead	[-]
Posts: 3835 (03/12/09 12:52 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Tags : None I found this article on the CNN website and I want to pass this info on to all military veterans. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Eric Shinseki, confirmed yesterday that the Obama Administration has drawn up a plan that will require veterans to pay for service related treatment at VA hospitals with private insurance. The administration has not formally presented the plan to the Congress, but it has been leaked to veterans organizations, who have notified lawmakers. Here is a link for you guys that want to check out the CNN story; http://cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/10/veterans.health.insurance/index.htm I have also read that the administration plans to charge active duty (yeah, you read me right, active duty) personnel up to $5,000 in annual co-pays for medical treatment for their families at military hospitals. There is also a plan to push retired veterans over 62 years old out of the Tricare For Life Program.
irishsteven		#1	[-]
Posts: 294 (03/12/09 09:56 PM) active member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Ever notice the people who would never serve in the military are always willing to take from those who do? I have a active duty Coast Guard buddy who says one of obama"s wet dreams is to have active duty personel pay 10 percent of their health costs.Retired 50 percent ! Why on earth would a guy subject his family to moving every 3 years to new schools,new doctors,new friends,and no dad because hes 6000 miles away being shot at if theres no more benefit to it than working at the local bank,or auto parts store?The article he read also talked about reviewing 90 percent of VA disibility payments.If he gets started on this please write to your elected officals.Active duty people have to be very careful about what they say,we vets dont, so dont let them get thrown under a bus.
eagle7		#2	[-]
Posts: 3837 (03/13/09 03:23 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	The various veterans groups have already contacted members of the Congress about this scheme. Surprisingly, both the Dems and Republicans are outraged over the Administration's plan, which includes having retired military pay the first $5,000 of any annual health costs, and would triple the cost of retirees' Tricare Prime annual premiums. This is the same Administration that just rammed SCHIP into law (which Bush vetoed). According to SCHIP, in certain cases 22 year old "children" of families that make less than $80,000 a year are entitled to free health care. As soon as I read the name Shinseki, I knew this plan was going to be a stab in the back of vets. My wife works with the spouses of active duty soldiers, and they have told her that soldiers have to make an allotment to Tricare for family medical coverage. The money is taken out of the soldier's paycheck automatically each month, and is a little less than $100 per month. I have trouble believing this.
dirtyik1		#3	[-]
Posts: 17 (03/14/09 09:02 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Thats not exactly the way it works. The Tricare is free if you use military hospitals or are referred to a civilian hospital. I think the ppl talking to your wife were referring to the dental portion of tricare. The mil dentists dont work on dependents and you have to purchase a form of tricare dental insurance. Not expensive but still dont think we should have to come out of pocket for it.
eagle7		#4	[-]
Posts: 3841 (03/14/09 11:51 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	That's what I thought. I was active duty up to 2004 and I paid $19 per month for the family dental insurance through the government provider, Delta Dental. I don't know what those Army wives are talking about in reference to Tricare premiums. I checked my link to the CNN article, and couldn't access it. Try this corrected link;http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/10/veterans.health.insurance/index.html?iref=newssearch Last Edited By: eagle7 03/15/09 03:41 PM. Edited 3 times.
nothernug		#5	[-]
Posts: 11245 (03/15/09 12:46 PM) Forum Site Moderator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	I don't know if it's me, my computer, or just what Obama & company does to things in print that my prove unpopular... But all I get from that link is "page not found." Maybe this is what you were referring to... http://www.veteranstoday.com/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=4305 I haven't had time to read this in deta il and cannot vouch for source. Diplomacy is the art of saying nice doggie until you can find a rock. Will Rogers
eagle7		#6	[-]
Posts: 3844 (03/15/09 03:35 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	The source I used was a CNN article at their website. Your reference had some of the same info, though I notice that it gave false information on what the present retirees' annual Tricare Prime enrollment fee is (it's not $230). One proviso of the proposed plan is that all veterans with service related injuries presently receiving disability and/or VA treatment would have to get their disabilities reassessed. edit. I fiddled around with the link in my last post and now it's working The title of the story is "Senators slam planfor wounded vets to use private insurance" Last Edited By: eagle7 03/15/09 03:46 PM. Edited 1 times.
eagle7		#7	[-]
Posts: 3846 (03/16/09 10:48 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	The American Legion has gone public on this issue. The national commander of the AL met today with the president, Rahm Emmanuel, and Eric Shinseki to discuss the administration's plan to force private insurance companies to pay for veterans' disabilities and service related injuries. The national commander was not happy when he left the White House, and he released a statement stating the president is firmly committed to his plan, and "he says he is looking to generate $540 million by this method, but refused to hear any arguments about the moral and government-avowed obligations that would be compromised by it". I guess we could say that this scheme is genuine. My question is how the heck the president intends to "force" private insurance carriers to pay for injuries or disabilities that were pre-existing????? Read the article at http://ourvoice.legion.org/story/1448/legion-white-house-dont-bill-our-heroes
Skeyed		#8	[-]
Posts: 4031 (03/17/09 12:26 AM) Veteran member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Well, I am service connected disable and I cannot get any dental work done. did I miss the boat? And I was thinking of giving up my AARP. Whats up doc.????? skd
eagle7		#9	[-]
Posts: 3848 (03/17/09 11:02 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Skeyed, the VA will only fix your teeth if they were damaged in a service related injury, or if you are a pauper with absolutely no way of paying. The VA does dental work, but the fees are comparable to what regular dentists charge. I know a vet who is poor but not destitute, and the VA wanted him to pay $175 to extract a rotted molar. This was at the Louisville KY VA hospital. Remember the key phrase is "service related injury or condition".
Jackbull49		#10	[-]
Posts: 217 (04/10/09 10:46 AM) active member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	I am retired Army, for my wife and I, Tricare Prime is, $460.00 a year, that is Medical no Dental. My dental problems were incurred on Active Duty and documented in my Dental Record (which is in my hands) and the VA is working on me for free. VA care is based on a "Service connected" test that varies widely from locale to locale, or indigence. Combat wounded Veterans should be at the top of the list in my book, they mostly are from what I have seen. The guy who hurt his back in the motorpool at Ft Riley through no fault of his own should also receive care but not before the combat wounded, in my opinion. All other vets should receive care based on availability at the specific site. In my opinion Combat related problems should be the top priority, even if all other problems must wait. I first came in the military in 1967, and finished in 2005. At no time was I ever told that the VA would provide me with complete care for the rest of my life, each and every time I had to sit through those dreaded annual VA Rights briefing they made it clear, that the VA was very limited in what they could provide. I have no idea where non-combat related problems that develop decades after service were added to VA Benefits, but there sure seems to be a lot of folks who think they are. PTSD, Agent Orange, and Gulf War Syndrome are all Combat Related problems. Low self esteem problems because your Platoon Sergeant called you a sissy is not.
eagle7		#11	[-]
Posts: 3879 (04/12/09 07:01 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Here's an update on this issue. Two days after the president and his VA advisors met with the commander of the American Legion the White House issued a press release stating that the planned changes were withdrawn from consideration by the US Congress. In other words, this scheme is dead....for the time being.
CHU Lai 68		#12	[-]
Posts: 2068 (04/12/09 11:12 PM) Veteran member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	VA care is based on a priority system.You are assigned a priority number according to your circumstances. Service connected is at the top....currently i am in the highest bracket #8.I have a co-pay based on my income.During the last administrations tour of duty the priority 8 group was cut out. I was already in the system or i would be too. As a result we have Vets who have about $33,000 household income a year who can't afford a private health insurance policy sitting in line with illegal aliens at emergency rooms for care. If we can pony up billions for big business, i have no problem with ANY Vet getting care from the VA if he can't get it by other means.As always, most of the criticisms about Vets getting care comes from other Vets....go figure. I wonder where all the concern was when the last Administration was cutting care and funds for the Vets and now its happening even before any thing is actually done and now that the "threat" has been dispersed, it's only because the VFW stepped in? I doubt it, but it's good they are listening to the Vet groups, something else that wasn't happening the last 8 years.
eagle7		#13	[-]
Posts: 3881 (04/13/09 02:03 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Some of us support veterans benefits regardless of who is president. I remember discussions on this forum about backdoor attempts to jack up retiree Tricare premiums, and VA schemes to re-evaluate all PTSD disabilities.....and that was when the other guy was president. Most of the criticisms about vets getting care DO NOT come from other vets ---- they come from beancounters within the VA bureacracy, and conniving politicians that prefer that tax dollars go to their pet porkbarrel projects rather than to vets in need of medical care. What I do find ironic are the frauds perpetrated by some vets that steal funds from needy vets, like fakers claiming POW benefits, and retirees overseas filing phony claims with crooked foreign health providers to cheat Tricare. Actually, the newest threat (and it was a threat) was quietly ditched by the administration when a number of lawmakers (both D and R) told the White House they would vote against it. The American Legion just put a spotlight on the scheme.
CHU Lai 68		#14	[-]
Posts: 2069 (04/13/09 03:36 PM) Veteran member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	If the criticisms don't come from other Vets how do you explain the majority of Veterans voting for a candidate that had a terrible voting record on Vet issues...my statement stands. After the last 8 years i think some of us have forgotten how the system SHOULD work, it wasn't a "scheme" and it was not being conducted in the dark....The President had a proposal , invited several Vet groups and VA officials to discuss it and after listening to them decided against it.Thats how the system should work.....no harm no foul. From the "Stars and Stripes": President Obama is drawing high praise from veterans' service organizations for proposing a Department of Veterans Affairs budget that would exceed by $1.3 billion what even VSOs suggested be spent next year. No president ever offered a VA spending plan that surpassed in size the "Independent Budget" presented to Congress by major veterans groups. Obama seeks to fulfill several high-profile promises made to veterans during his presidential campaign including a big increase in VA health care budgets. Last Edited By: CHU Lai 68 04/13/09 04:12 PM. Edited 3 times.
Jackbull49		#15	[-]
Posts: 218 (04/13/09 07:27 PM) active member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	"Many's the slip between the cup and the lip", Obama "proposes"a gazillion dollar budget for the VA, knowing full well his party will "authorize" less and fund even less. This is very old fashion Washington DC schenanigans which will for the umteenth year in a row render a very insufficient budget for the VA. Talk is very inexpensive inside the beltway, lets not start counting on these McBillions until the Authorization Bill is printed 16 minutes before the congress votes on it. " Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me." old saying. " Meet the new boss, same as the old boss" The Who
eagle7		#16	[-]
Posts: 3883 (04/13/09 10:53 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	What makes you think Obama wanted an open debate on his "you vets can have your privately purchased health insurance pay for your service related disabilities" VA plan??? Originally the mainstream media didn't want to touch this topic with a ten foot pole. This plan was leaked to certain blogsites, Drudge got a hold of it, then CNN let the cat out of the bag. This plan was developed with zero input from the AL, VFW, or DAV. I guess the "proposed" budget increases will fund the employment of ACORN activists at the VA, or perhaps "economic stimulus" VA construction projects which will be awarded to Obama supporters. Ask yourself this question; Why prop up the VA medical system when a nationalized health care system is a highly desired goal of this administration???? The intent of Obama's VA medical plan for service related disabilities was to in essence privatize the funding of veteran health care from the VA to insurance providers. These VA budget proposals and "high profile promises made to veterans during his presidential campaign" will end up in the trashcan of political expediency. The proposed megazillion dollar VA budget will end up like the wall that Washington promised it was going to build to stop illegal immigration from Mexico, or a certain presidential candidate's campaign promise to abolish the Patriot Act and end the war in Iraq in 180 days..
CHU Lai 68		#17	[-]
Posts: 2070 (04/13/09 11:38 PM) Veteran member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	It's clear with your forecasts of doom and gloom, you would be happy if he proved you right. I understand your frustration, Vet issues have been under attack for the last 8 years.I prefer to give the man a chance.Negativity helps no one. My paychecks have already been bigger with the stimulous pkg, as has most other Americans.....i would suppose all the naysayers will be refunding this money?
eagle7		#18	[-]
Posts: 3885 (04/14/09 12:36 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Your paycheck is larger because the "Making Work Pay" tax credit in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) kicked in on 1 April. Note that it is a "tax credit", not a tax cut. You must be getting $11 to $16 more a week since Uncle Sam's IRS changed the Federal Withholding Tax scale. If you are filing your taxes as an individual you will receive $400 this year in "tax credits", or $800 if you and your spouse file as a married couple. You do know that you will have to pay taxes on that "tax credit" on 15 April 2010? The bottom line is that you will have less money withheld this year to pay taxes on your take home pay....which will include the $400 or $800 extra taxable income. And this "tax credit" will only be paid for eight months per year for 2009 and 2010. I wish we were getting a real tax CUT not this tax CREDIT. Also consider this; the ARRA cost the American taxpayers $787 billion, and ALL of it had to be borrowed in the form of Tresury bills and bonds. You and I and our kids and grandkids will pay interest on this $787 billion. I guess that's why the leaders of the Peoples Republic of China have stopped buying American debt. Last Edited By: eagle7 04/15/09 01:18 PM. Edited 1 times.
Jackbull49		#19	[-]
Posts: 222 (04/19/09 07:00 PM) active member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	It seems as though the new plan is to designate most of us combat veterans as "terrorist" which will drop us from the rolls of VA elligible. This should make the miniscule budget they will have to work with go much farther.
CHU Lai 68		#20	[-]
Posts: 2071 (04/19/09 08:34 PM) Veteran member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	I've read the report and i don't believe it does anything near what has been speculated here.It simply points out that disgruntled combat Veterans may pose a risk considering their combat skills. Remember Lee Harvey Oswald?(ex-Marine) Chapman(ex-marine Texas Tower shooter)...and how bout Timothy McVeigh?(ex-Army Okla city) Sounds like due vigilence to me.