Posted on 06/27/2008 9:22:35 PM PDT by Doofer
I really have a great amount of pity for those millions of poor souls who have such undying faith in the promises made by any politician, particularly those who hold nationaloffices. Those who swallow this “Alice in Wonderland” rhetoric will suffer the deepest cuts of all when they step back through the looking glass and view reality for the first time.
Perhaps the best available example of the “Promises Made-Promises Kept” lie can be found when viewing the health care provided for career military retirees.
Those who enlisted in the armed forces from World War II through the Korean War and well up until 1958, who elected to make the military a career were all promised health care for themselves and their dependents for life.
Recruiting literature and every reenlistment councilor promoted this free health care option continuously during all of those years. But, the end result was not as promised. There is limited care. It is not free. And the program is so stingy that a vast number of doctors and medical organizations will not even accept those who must use the program our government provides.
After 1958 the government started to weasel its way out of that “free care” obligation with changes in various regulations that called for medical services to be offered on a “space available” basis at military facilities. They also started to close many of the facilities that offered such services.
There was CHAMPUS, a program that offered limited services with co-pay to the individual service member or retiree. Those past age 65 were directed to enroll in Medicare,effectively removing them from the Department of Defense obligation to cover their medical treatment.
When the CHAMPUS method of payment became too expensive TRICARE was created. It quickly morphed into a hodge-podge or different plans, each worse than the other.
Members of Congress have also noted for the record that “A significant share of the Nation’s health care providers refuse to accept new TRICARE patients because TRICARE pays them significantly less than commercial insurance programs and imposes unique and extensive administrative requirements.”
Furthermore, TRICARE remains under the Department of Defense umbrella. Everyone in uniform knows that DOD views retirees as an extra burden hung around its neck.
The agency feels retirees drain dollars away from the beans and bullets it needs for the active duty mission. Thus, when DOD was charged with constraining the cost of TRICARE, a major part of the department’s cost reduction effort has been to shift a larger share of those cost burdens to retired service members.
In the findings and sense of Congress section of H.R. 579 it remarks, “The beneficiary cost increases proposed by the Department of Defense fail to recognize adequately that career service members paid enormous in-kind premiums through their extended service and sacrifice.” But, even with such a rebuking review DOD still continues attempts to circumvent existing law and congressional guidelines.
Check out the bull they’re trying to pull on the vets who happen to have retired in the Philippines at the following link...
https://sites.google.com/site/militaryretireesoverseas/
I absolutely and utterly defy ANYONE, on this board or anywhere else, to name me, specifically, ANY problem that the US goobermint have ''solved'', as in ''made go away, permanently'' or any equivalent result.
Modern 'government' is nothing more or less than the supplier of 'Depends' for the Constitutionally incontinent.
As one of our good FReeper's tag line reads, approximately: ''If you can't come up with a solution, there's good money to be made by prolonging the problem.''
That describes the US goobermint, TO A 'T'.
“when they step back through the looking glass and view reality for the first time.”
The problem is that dumbed-down libs (thanks, NEA) almost NEVER view reality because they suffer from cognitive dissonance.
BTW, if you want to see the future of ALL healthcare under an Obama Presidency, just look at the travesties of CAMPUS and TRICARE. We cannot let that happen!
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