Posted on 07/25/2007 5:29:16 PM PDT by amchugh
Broad changes are needed in the way the country cares for its veterans, including a boost in benefits for family members helping the wounded and an overhaul of the way disability pay is awarded, a presidential commission urged Wednesday.
The nine-member panel, led by former Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kansas, and Donna Shalala, health and human services secretary during the Clinton administration, also recommended stronger partnerships between the Pentagon and the private sector.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Veterans should get a credit card, good for treatment at any hospital.
When the servicemember gets out, they file a claim with the VA in 99% of cases, which means another few months wasted while the VA opens up a case file, orders another (VA) exam, and rates the disability using the same book AGAIN. Lotta duplication here, as you can see.
Let the service determine if a member is unfit for duty -- and then let the VA have it to "rate," because we're gonna get it anyway. And then there will be no embarrassing gap between a wounded GI's military pay ending and his VA compensation kicking in. This is the way it SHOULD work, you understand....
Now, look, I know the above sentiment, in one form or another, is going to pop up several more times on this thread. Let me say this once and for all: If you close the VA hospitals in favor of vouchers at civilian treatment facilities, you vets are going to have to wait in line behind welfare queens and illegal immigrants and their broods. You think I'm kiddin'? You wait!
After all we were Promised LifeTime Medical Care.
Good idea.
True! But your DD Form 2 works at a uniformed services health care facility only. In the VA we accord priority treatment according to your percentage of disability. Retired status doesn't enter into it. But then you do have Tricare....
True! But your DD Form 2 works at a uniformed services health care facility only. In the VA we accord priority treatment according to your percentage of disability. Retired status doesn't enter into it. But then you do have Tricare....
(1) Military Retirees older than 64 years old can only get Meds at an Uniformed Services Health Care Facility
(2) I am a Priority 8 Veteran.
(3) I retired USAF 35 years ago.
(4) I am retired Civil Service, Department of Veterans Affairs with 12 years service.
Anything else?????
Sounds good to me, but I know very little on this subject.
If you want ON or OFF the list please FReepmail me.
When Hillary was doing her original Hillary Care in the early 1990s she discovered the VA clinics and hospitals and thought it only fair to send the poor and illegal aliens to them
She felt it was not fair that American veterans hog a health care system to themselves..”I’m going to take away from them and give it to you”..
BTTT
Dear Veteran American: First off: We don’t want any money, we want your voice and your vote. Here’s why:
• We are a minority that numbers 13,000,000 plus
• We are black, white, brown, yellow, red, and maybe blue
• We may or may not worship in the same way, but we all hope alike
• We all took the same oath
• We and our long-gone brothers & sisters have defended this country against all enemies, foreign and domestic
• We know first hand that OUR country is in trouble
• We also know that many of our brothers & sisters have troubles also
• Together, we may be able to make life better for them, and ultimately for all Americans
How will we do that? Not very easily for we need to make the Congress, the Senate, and the President know that we are not as stupid as LT Kerry once suggested.
Our first effort needs a project that is universal, and is not politically debatable within our ranks. CROSSED RIFLES When the battle is won is that project.
Its main point is to supplement and ultimately replace the medical care for veterans offered by the Veterans Administration. We recognize that some VA medical services are unique, and of course, we would preserve them. Crossed Rifles will not only help those of us who need medical attention, but may ultimately serve as a technical model for universal American health care.
Here’s the skinny: Many of us believe that the government owes us the right to pursue a healthy life. That has meant the VA medical system that can require for example, a two hundred mile drive to see a “certified” physician in a “certified” VA building (for example Bldg 18). Then you must prove the reason you seek medical help is service-connected.
Crossed Rifles takes another tack… Service in the military for 18 months or more (Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine) entitles you to life-long medical care by physicians of your choice. Here’s how it would work:
All veterans with a clean DD Form 214 will receive an ID card (service number identity, for example) with an embedded SD chip with his or her medical history. This chip will contain images (e.g., X-ray, MRI, etc.) as well as reports like blood tests, and other procedures and will automatically update after any medical treatment or procedure. The veteran can see any physician, be treated for any ailment, and make a small co-pay ($10. to $25.) dependent on length of service or hostile environment, to avoid turning the doctor’s office into a club house.
Service connection is irrelevant. Who can define what is and is not the health result of service in the military? Consider a hearing loss at age fifty, who is to say that gunfire, aircraft engines, falls and bumps in service are not the cause. Cancer, one may argue is not service connected and should not be treated unless an identifiable agent used by the military could have been responsible; e.g., uranium shells, asbestos exposure, agent orange etc. Such demands simply open the VA to legal costs that may exceed the treatment costs. The system should run like the IRS, we expect the doctors to be straight, but the VA will retain the right to investigate. To make this program palatable to the physicians the VA may raise the insurers normal reimbursement with, say, a 2% increment.
To get any of this done we need you and your kids to help us construct mailing and email lists from friends, your American Legion Post, the VFW, and all the other Vet organizations. These organizations are wonderful, but their agendas aim to attract and keep members. We only want your voices and votes.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.