Obama wants private insurance companies to cover service-related injuries for military veterans. The American Legion is strongly opposed to the plan:
Commander Rehbein reiterated points made last week in testimony to both House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees. It was stated then that The American Legion believes that the reimbursement plan would be inconsistent with the mandate that VA treat service-connected injuries and disabilities given that the United States government sends members of the armed forces into harm’s way, and not private insurance companies. The proposed requirement for these companies to reimburse the VA would not only be unfair, says the Legion, but would have an adverse impact on service-connected disabled veterans and their families. The Legion argues that, 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. The Legion also points out that many health insurance companies require deductibles to be paid before any benefits are covered. Additionally, the Legion is concerned that private insurance premiums would be elevated to cover service-connected disabled veterans and their families, especially if the veterans are self-employed or employed in small businesses unable to negotiate more favorable across-the-board insurance policy pricing. The American Legion also believes that some employers, especially small businesses, would be reluctant to hire veterans with service-connected disabilities due to the negative impact their employment might have on obtaining and financing company health care benefits.
If Obama’s plan goes through many veterans will become uninsurable for pre-existing service-related injuries.
Hat tip to an email from Mark O’Dell.
UPDATE: Here’s candidate Barack Obama a week ago last year:
When soldiers return from fighting, they deserve nothing but the best in medical care, he said. More needs to be done, he said, to understand the effects of post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury on soldiers returning from war.
“We’ll have to keep our sacred trust with our veterans and fully fund the (Veterans Administration). We’ll have to look after our wounded warriors, whether they’re suffering from wounds seen or unseen,” he said.
Newsflash: Obama lied his ass off. Follow the link for then-Obama’s take on debts and deficits vs. now-Obama’s porkulus spending plan:
“Because of the Bush-McCain policies, our debt has ballooned. This is creating problems in our fragile economy. And that kind of debt also places an unfair burden on our children and grandchildren, who will have to repay it,” he said. “John McCain seems determined to carry out a third Bush term.”
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It was the CBO that brought this forward not OBAMA-Biden….
CBO eyes military retirees, vets for health cost cuts
Date: January 04, 2009
Topic: Benefits
By Tom Philpott
A new report from the Congressional Budget Office shows why some military retirees and veterans could face higher out-of-pocket costs if the Obama administration and Congress take bold moves to reform the U.S. health system and to make federal health programs more efficient.
Among 115 “options” presented, though not endorsed, in the CBO report, several focus on raising Tricare out-of-pocket costs for retirees and one targets families. Others would tighten access to VA hospitals and clinics, or raise VA health fees, for veterans with no service-connected conditions.
Working-age military retirees will find here some of those familiar cost-saving ideas endorsed by the Bush administration to raise Tricare fees, co-payments and deductibles for retirees under 62 and their spouses.
But other options are new and, if enacted into law, would raise health costs for Medicare-eligible military retirees and for active duty families. One option suggests having the VA health system disenroll millions of users who have no service-related injuries or ailments.
Every two years, the CBO presents daring options for Congress and the executive branch to weigh in trying to control federal spending. The new report, “Budget Options, Volume 1: Health Care,” is unusual in that it focuses entirely health care, an Obama policy priority, and its arrival is unscheduled.
It’s also significant that the CBO director who led this work was Peter R. Orszag, President-elect Obama’s nominee to be his director of the Office of Management and Budget. OMB is responsible for assembling the president’s annual budget request to Congress. How bold will his economic team be?
“We are going to go through our federal budget, as I promised during the campaign, page by page, line by line, eliminating those programs we don’t need and insisting that those that we do need operate in a sensible, cost-effective way,” Obama said in November as he announced Orszag’s nomination to join his cabinet .
“We’re also going to focus on one of the biggest, long-run challenges that our budget faces, namely the rising cost of health care in both the public and private sectors,” Obama continued. “This is not just a challenge but also an opportunity to improve the health care that Americans rely on, and to bring down the costs that taxpayers, businesses and families have to pay. That is what [OMB] will do in my administration.”
Obama added, “Peter doesn’t need a map to tell him where the bodies are buried in the federal budget. He knows what works and what doesn’t, what’s worth our precious tax dollars and what is not.”
Indeed, in the CBO report’s preface, Orszag gets “special thanks” for having “conceived” the report and being “instrumental in its development.”
Many of its options deal with adjustments to Medicare, Medicaid, private health insurance rules and the Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan for federal civilians. Most ideas are aimed at cutting costs but some would enhance benefits. The 226-page report can be read on line at: http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/99xx/doc9925/12-18-HealthOptions.pdf
Here are some options that would touch military people and veterans: Tricare for working-age retirees
Fees, co-payments and deductibles would be raised for retirees under 62 to restore the relative costs paid when Tricare began in 1995. Tricare Prime enrollment would be raised to $550 a year for individuals from $230. Retiree families would pay $1,100 versus $460 today. Co-pays for doctor visits would climb to $28 from $12 and users of Tricare Standard and Extra would pay an annual deductible of $350 for an individual and $700 for families. Congress has declined to support such increases for the past three years.
Fees for active duty families
Dependents of active duty members enrolled in Tricare Prime, the managed care network, would pay new fees equal to 10 percent of the cost of health services obtained either in military treatment facilities or through civilian network providers. Total out of pocket costs would be capped, however.
To help offset these costs, dependents would receive a $500 non-taxable allowance annually. Those who elect to use alternative health insurance, rather than Tricare, could apply the $500 toward their health insurance premiums, co-payments or deductibles.
CBO estimates these fees would save $7 billion over 10 years and encourage Prime enrollees to “use medical services prudently.” It also would entice more spouses to enroll in employer-provided health plans instead of Tricare. The downside, CBO said, would be financial difficulties for some Prime enrollees despite the cap on out-of-pocket costs. Also, CBO said, spouses induced to rely on employer health plans could see health coverage interrupted during military assignment relocations.
Tricare-For-Life fees
The military’s health insurance supplement to Medicare could see higher user costs. Under this option, beneficiaries would pay the first $525 of yearly medical costs plus one half of the next $4,725 of costs charged to Medicare. So the extra out-of-pocket cost for TFL users would be up to $2,887.50 a year. This amount would be indexed to rise with Medicare costs. The change would save $40 billion over 10 years. But CBO said it also could discourage some patients from seeking preventive care or proper management of chronic conditions. So it could negatively affect some patients’ health.
Tighten VA enrollment
The VA healthcare system would be directed to disenroll 2.3 million Priority Groups 7 and 8 – individuals who are not poor and have no service-related medical needs. Estimated savings would be $53 billion over 10 years but Medicare spending would rise by $26 billion in the same period as elderly among these vets shifted to Medicare.
CBO said 90 percent of these vets have other health care coverage. But this change could leave up to 10 percent unable to find affordable care.
Wonder if someone could hand Barry a dictionary, with the word “Irony” highlighted, with an extra slip of paper explaining why it applies to this situation.
Barry is a moron.
theirritablearchitect´s last blog post..Classic No-Think
Please don’t repost entire news articles. Link to them instead.
The plan might have originated at the CBO, but if you follow the link in my post the Legion met directly with Obama.
Check for further updates. I heard last night that Obama’s response after hearing of the uproar was:
This proposal will no longer be discussed or considered. It is off the table.
He thanked the vast number of veterans groups that responded to the (no associated) CBO proposal.
He’s not such a bad guy after all?
Hitler Health Plan…Obama has the ovens ready for our downes kids