Report: 1.7 Million Vets Lack Health Care

[cosmicone]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041019/ap_on_he_me/veterans_health_1

By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Nearly 1.7 million military veterans have no health insurance or access to government hospitals and clinics for veterans, according to a report Tuesday from a doctors' group that favors federally financed health care.

The number of uninsured veterans jumped by 235,000 since 2000, meaning they are losing health insurance at a faster rate than the general population, said Physicians for a National Health Program, which advocates a universal national health insurance program. About 45 million Americans have no health insurance, including 5 million who lost coverage during the past four years, according to the Census Bureau (news - web sites).

"We're sending men and women off to war and yet the people who fought previous wars can't get the basic things they need to go on with their lives afterward," said Dr. David Himmelstein, a Harvard Medical School (news - web sites) professor and an author of the study.

White House spokesman Trent Duffy said the Bush administration has opened 194 community health clinics for veterans and increased spending on medical care for veterans by 40 percent. "The president wants to make sure they get the care that they need and they deserve," Duffy said.

[flamingyouth]

1. This is just sick, an absolute tragedy

Goddamn it. :grr:

[lovuian]

2. The Health care system is crashing

and we will go to Universal health no matter what Bush says!!!

[aquart]

3. This is WRONG.

If you ever have a philosophical difficulty in distinguishing right from wrong, if it all seems a little too ambivalent.......THIS IS A CLEAR WRONG.

[fknobbit]

4. The Disabled American Veterans say that the needed

annual increase cost to keep the VA prepared is 15 mil. Bush proudly bragged in the debates that his administration has increased the VA budget by 26 mill.

4 yrs at 15 mill=60 mill and he is short of VA needs by 34 mill, yet no one calls him on this crap. access to VA facilities require a waiting period of 6 mo to a yr avg, and people are dying in line.

[Moderator]

5. Duplicate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=916195


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