Veterans Care to be Unchanged under Health Care Reform

[babylonsister]

For all those fear-mongering e-mails being circulated, here's a current response.

http://www.vetvoice.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3838

Veterans Care to be Unchanged under Health Care Reform
by: Richard Allen Smith
Thu Mar 18, 2010 at 19:06:27 PM EDT


The right has spent a good portion of the debate over health care reform engaging in scare tactics aimed at Veterans and Retirees (and when not doing that, have engaged in the demonizing of government health care begging the question why our Veterans would get health care that is somehow substandard, but I digress). Today, VA seeks to put those fears to rest:

Let me be unambiguous: The healthcare that Veterans receive through the VA system, including dependents of certain veterans enrolled in the CHAMPVA program, will be safe and sound under health reform. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs would continue to maintain sole authority over the system and for enhancing the quality and access for all eligible Veterans.

In addition, TRICARE will continue to be available for all eligible servicemen and women, and their families. Those who are covered by TRICARE would meet the shared responsibility requirement for individuals to have insurance, thereby exempting such members of the uniformed services and dependants from being assessed any sort of penalty. The President has made it clear publicly and to me that he is committed to ensuring that America's servicemen and women have high quality care, and with health reform that commitment remains very much intact.

I have personally seen what a devastating medical condition can cost. Had I been injured on the freeway and not in combat, it is likely that I would be bankrupt even though I had medical insurance through my civilian employer. I personally receive my world class healthcare from the VA and as a dependent on my husband's Tricare eligibility. This bill is good for our nation and our Veterans and Service Members and their families can be reassured that their benefits are safe.

The author of that statement is, of course, Tammy Duckworth, Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs, a double combat amputee who left both her legs in Iraq. As the vote on health care reform draws near, expect to see more shameful fear-mongering directed at the Veteran community-- a slimy political tactic that falls well beneath the measure of service Vets have given to our country.

[Silver Gaia]

1. Thank you. This is good to know.

I figured as much, but it's good to see it stated 'officially.'

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2. freepers keep repolishing this turd #5

Health Care ‘To The Department That Handles Welfare’
This week, Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-CA) told KUSI in San Diego that one of the most offensive parts of the health care reform law is that it will move TRICARE, the health program covering servicemembers and their families, out of the Defense Department and “to the department that handles welfare.” He added that once members of the military find out, “all hell is going to break loose”:

BILBRAY: When the retired military finds out that their TRICARE has been moved out of the Department of Defense to the department that handles welfare — when you tell somebody that’s served this country in the military, that now their programs are going to be administered like welfare programs, rather than earned military benefits, all hell is going to break loose. I can’t wait for mom to hear that her TRICARE now is going to be administered by the welfare people.

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/03/25/bilbray-tricare/

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3. Republicans Block TRICARE/VA Amendment

Republicans Block TRICARE/VA Amendment that Addresses their Concerns


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Republicans Block TRICARE/VA Amendment that Addresses their Concerns

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 08:50 AM PDT

Even though nothing in the health care reform bill that recently passed the House of Representatives in any way indicated that VA or TRICARE benefits would be affected, or that anyone would have to pay a fine for those benefits being their source of health insurance, Republicans raised hell about it anyway. That's what they do. Make things up and feign outrage.
"Alright," said the Democrats. "We'll placate your fear-mongering based in fantasy." So the majority in the House passed a bill that explicitly stated that nothing would be effected in regards to VA or TRICARE benefits.

That must have angered Senate Republicans, because they decided to block the same measure in their Chamber. From a press release out of Senator Webb's office:


During a debate last night on health care legislation, Republicans blocked a motion by Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) to provide immediate fixes to two areas of the law that would have clarified and protected coverage for millions of TRICARE and Veterans Administration beneficiaries.
Senator Webb put forward a motion to adopt two bills-S. 3148, his TRICARE Affirmation Act and S. 3162, sponsored by Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel Akaka-which garnered the cosponsorship of every Democratic Senator and five Republican Senators.

"If my colleagues on the other side of the aisle really want to fix this problem, we can and should fix it right now," Senator Webb said last night on the Senate floor. "I introduced a bill on Monday which already passed the House unanimously to protect TRICARE benefits. Today, Chairman Akaka introduced a bill to clarify that the health care provided by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs constitutes minimum essential coverage. I ask unanimous consent that we pass these two measures and not allow this issue to be tied up in the melodrama of the moment."

Webb continued: "The American people should understand that the Republicans blocked legislation that could have enacted into law immediately a permanent fix to this issue.

If you had any doubts previously, this should clear them up: on this issue, Republicans have no concern for Vets or military families. They are opposed to the health care reform legislation, which is fine with me if they want to have that opinion. What gets me angry is that they are playing politics with and fear-mongering those Vets and military families.

If they had any legitimate concern for reassuring us that our benefits would be protected, Republicans in the Senate would not have blocked the amendment. However, allowing it to pass would not support their fear-mongering narrative. Instead, they punted the Vets and military families that they use as a Political football.

Stay classy, Senate Republicans.

http://www.vetvoice.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3868&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+VetvoiceBlog+%28VetVoice+-+Blog%29

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4. The CBO/TRICARE Email That Won’t Die

Such Long Legs This Has
The better to fool people with. What started as an impassioned yet unrealistic review of the Congressional Budget Office’s recommendations to President Obama has continued to gain traction in the email world. Although we’ve already discussed this subject twice in previous articles, some changes have been made in the language of the introduction and the email title, giving it new legs. But this doesn’t change the fact that the CBO report was a recommendation to the administrations that was flatly rejected, TRICARE and TFL funding have made it through the NDAA so far, and the Health Care Reform bill contains no language that would affect military health care.


The Newest Iteration of the Email
PLEASE PASS THIS TO ALL MILITARY RETIREES (or soon to be retirees)
FOR INFORMATION
Received from a retired USMC General Officer today

This is supposedly true. It is on pages 77, 172, 218, and 434. You have to dig to see the charges. We (retirees) would lose the Medicare for life benefit and would have to pay. We would lose TRICARE as a total care package.





http://www.moaablogs.org/battleofthebilge/2009/10/cboagain/

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5. Department of Veterans Affairs

The author of that statement is, of course, Tammy Duckworth, Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs, a double combat amputee who left both her legs in Iraq. As the vote on health care reform draws near, expect to see more shameful fear-mongering directed at the Veteran community-- a slimy political tactic that falls well beneath the measure of service Vets have given to our country.






Putting the Concerns of Our Veterans and Our Troops to Rest
Posted by Tammy Duckworth on March 21, 2010 at 02:47 PM EDT

To give our veterans further assurance that this legislation will not affect their health care systems, the Chairmen of five house committees including Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Bob Filner and Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton, have just issued a joint letter (pdf) reaffirming that the health reform legislation as written would protect those receiving care through all TRICARE and Department of Veterans Affairs programs. In case any questions remained, yesterday’s unanimous passage of HR 4887 in the U.S. House of Representatives, the TRICARE Affirmation Act, made it crystal clear that our veterans – in particular those who depend on TRICARE - will not be harmed by this bill. The White House supports this legislation as well.

Update II: Also see the new statement from VA Secretary Eric Shinseki.]

As Assistant Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, a constant concern for me is having our Veterans dragged into partisan politics. Unfortunately the debate over health reform has seen that happen far too many times, and at the VA we often have to correct misinformation and assure Veterans that the care they rely on will not be taken away from them.

One of the concerns we are hearing the most now is whether health reform will affect the care Veterans receive under the VA system.

Let me be unambiguous: The healthcare that Veterans receive through the VA system, including dependents of certain veterans enrolled in the CHAMPVA program, will be safe and sound under health reform. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs would continue to maintain sole authority over the system and for enhancing the quality and access for all eligible Veterans.

In addition, TRICARE will continue to be available for all eligible servicemen and women, and their families. Those who are covered by TRICARE would meet the shared responsibility requirement for individuals to have insurance, thereby exempting such members of the uniformed services and dependants from being assessed any sort of penalty. The President has made it clear publicly and to me that he is committed to ensuring that America’s servicemen and women have high quality care, and with health reform that commitment remains very much intact.

I have personally seen what a devastating medical condition can cost. Had I been injured on the freeway and not in combat, it is likely that I would be bankrupt even though I had medical insurance through my civilian employer. I personally receive my world class healthcare from the VA and as a dependent on my husband's Tricare eligibility. This bill is good for our nation and our Veterans and Service Members and their families can be reassured that their benefits are safe.

Tammy Duckworth is the Assistant Secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs for the Department of Veterans Affairs

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6. Statement from VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Katie Roberts
March 21, 2010 [e-mail] or 202-461-4982 202-461-4982

Statement from VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki
WASHINGTON - As Secretary of Veterans Affairs, I accepted the solemn responsibility to uphold our sacred trust with our nation’s Veterans. Fears that Veterans health care and TRICARE will be undermined by the health reform legislation are unfounded. I am confident that the legislation being voted on today will provide the protections afforded our nation’s Veterans and the health care they have earned through their service. The President and I stand firm in our commitment to those who serve and have served in our armed forces. We pledge to continue to provide the men and women in uniform and our Veterans the high quality health care they have earned.

President Obama has strongly supported Veterans and their needs, specifically health care needs, on every major issue for these past 14 months – advance appropriations, new GI Bill implementation, new Agent Orange presumptions for three additional diseases, new Gulf War Illness presumptions for nine additional diseases, and a 16% budget increase in 2010 for the Department of Veterans Affairs, that is the largest in over 30 years, and which has been followed by a 2011 VA budget request that increases that record budget by an additional 7.6%.

To give our Veterans further assurance that health reform legislation will not affect their health care systems, the Chairmen of five House committees, including Veterans Affairs Chairman Bob Filner and Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton, have just issued a joint letter reaffirming that the health reform legislation as written would protect those receiving care through all TRICARE and Department of Veterans Affairs programs.

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