Veterans And The Universal Healthcare Debate

[allan]

VETERANS AND THE UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE DEBATE

Posted on July 19, 2009 by gordonduff http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.phpvar addthis_pub = \'peapolzmedia\';

FEW VETERAN FAMILIES ARE COVERED BY ANY INSURANCE

HEALTH CARE RATIONED IN AMERICA BY MONEY

By Gordon Duff STAFF WRITER

As a 100% Disabled Veteran, I qualify for full VA health care, including dental and optical. It hasn't been a perfect relationship. I got glasses a decade ago. They were broken and didn't fit when I got them in the mail. The VA has sent me to private dentists as they have not had qualified people available. It has cost me thousands. Specialist referrals are never made or have had year long waits and most problems or illnesses have been misdiagnosed.

The point? The VA is batting about the same as our wonderful civilian health care system but it is getting better, endlesssly better than it was. The VA is crippled from a few directions that, we hope, will not hamper a national system:

• The Bush administration saw DVA health care as an entitlement to cut rather than a right earned by those that served their country.
  
• A totally unaccountable bureaucracy, tied to conservative VSOs, is in place insulating the DVA system from serious improvement. This group stresses an organization that places patient interests last, contrary to mandated legal ethics. (In Bed With the Enemy)
  
• In some, perhaps many, areas, doctors and nurses face retaliation for supporting patient rights.
  
  
  Veterans come in 3 health care categories with many subcategories.
  
  

1. 
   
2. Retirees with Tricare
   
3. 100% Permanent and Total Disabled Veterans whose families have CHAMPVA
   
4. All other categories with no family coverage or dental and optical.
   

Category 3 is huge. It assumes that these vets are employed or retired with full health care covering their families. The VA assumes that the Veterans insurance carrier will cover co-pays and fees also.

The problem with this is that the number of people in the US with health insurance is plunging rapidly. Not only that, but those with coverage are watching that increasingly restricted with severe limitations on treatments and drugs.

Additionally, it has built a system tied to scamming money. The classic case is the endless number of new drugs being pushed onto the market that are either useless, if you are lucky, or totally dangerous. Unnecessary drugs are used because doctors are inundated with "drug pimps" and falsified scientific data. Can an entire country have "erectile dysfuntion?" If Congress is any indication, I would think we may have some fakers out there.

I have experience with the health care systems in Europe and find them superior to those in the US. Many say the French system is the best. Seeing a doctor in Britain didn't take more than 5 minutes, receiving treatment was frighteningly easy and they barely asked my name. When I took out a credit card to pay, they seemed insulted. They said, "Health care is a right, not a product."

It is my belief that we can get the DVA system on track, reform the medical ethics problem and deal with the disability pension problem that is both inundated with claims and totally mismanged.

We can do this the moment the VSOs step aside and a few key members of Congress get their own mental health issues taken care of. Current attitudes about veterans health care, in Congress and even Executive level show clear signs of delusion.

Perhaps those involved have previously existing personality disorders. I wonder if their insurance covers that?

In the interim, the vast majority of veterans have families either without insurance or at risk of losing coverage. Imagine a veteran running down to the local DVA medical center to receive treatment that he can't afford for his own children.

http://www.veteranstoday.com/modules.php?n...le&sid=8002

[purple]

True Pete---I learned that while stationed overseas for 8 years. The amount of taxes that European citizens pay....WOW!....we should consider ourselves very, very lucky!! Sure, their incomes are higher....but they are taxed out the butt.

[john999]

Do you hate medicare as well? Do you give back your SSD checks? Oh, God, it's socialism....eeeeekkkkk!

[rentalguy1]

we have to stay very far away ...............................................

The rest of this post removed due to partisan politics.

carlie

Now damnit, Carlie...that was not partisan as I am not a member of either party. It is true words, as it comes from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. I have no problems with being edited when it is due, but it wasn't in this post.

[rentalguy1]

Do you hate medicare as well? Do you give back your SSD checks? Oh, God, it's socialism....eeeeekkkkk!

John, remove your political views from the picture for a moment and look at the facts of the situation. Social Security is not socialism. We are all forced to pay into that system, and we each hope to get that money back, plus interest when the time comes. VA disability compensation is not socialism, either. We each earned that, the same way that a civilian employ earns long-term disability compensation through a employer should they become unable to work. Medicare is government forced benevolence, which is socialism, but I don't think very many have a problem with that.

The problem that folks have with Medicare is that it began as a way to provide medical treatment to poor women and their children, and it has morphed into something that encompasses all poor folks. Moreover, each state is forced to pay 43% of the overall bill for Medicare, but they were not given a say in the matter. It was forced upon them by the federal government. Add to this, the fact that Medicare does not pay doctors what their time is worth, and massive, continual budget cuts to the system and you get the current result of rationing of health care within that system. Now, with the current administrations plans on health care, they are proposing to cut the Medicare budget another $400 billion over the next ten years, which would result in a even lower quality and availability of care to those that rely on that system. In addition to that, the sates are going to be required to pay the same 43% of the burden of the new universal coverage system that the government is proposing in 3 to 5 years. But, again, they have no say in this whatsoever. It is being legislated to them by the federal government.

All of this is compounded by the fact that only 2% of medical school graduates go into the field of primary care. Ninety eight percent of the graduates go into a medical specialty. To be sure, some of them do so to get wealthy, but the majority do this in order to have the ability to repay their the debt that they incurred while gaining their education. The small amount that is paid by government programs to reimburse primary care docs is second in reasoning only behind outrageous tort claims and the impact these claims have on malpractice insurance.

If you read my last blog, I relate the CBO's numbers to the number of jobs that will be lost as a result of the new health care legislation. I, along with a growing majority of politicians, democrat and republican, believe this is something that we cannot afford to do to the country at this time. We are already bankrupt, and these spending efforts cannot be continued. Never, in the history of economics and finance, has any person or entity been able to spend their way out of debt. And while it is true that you have to spend money to make money, a democratic form of government has no authority, or capability to create wealth, but merely move it from person to another.

To the mods: this is not a political rant, so please don't take it as such and edit it. I have laid out facts as presented from a non-political entity. I am not saying that nothing should be done about the skyrocketing costs of health care and drugs. Of course it does, but we cannot further backrupt the country in the process.

[Tbird]

letting this stand, as posted.

please don't allow this thread to degenerate into a partisan bickering session.

John, remove your political views from the picture for a moment and look at the facts of the situation. Social Security is not socialism. We are all forced to pay into that system, and we each hope to get that money back, plus interest when the time comes. VA disability compensation is not socialism, either. We each earned that, the same way that a civilian employ earns long-term disability compensation through a employer should they become unable to work. Medicare is government forced benevolence, which is socialism, but I don't think very many have a problem with that.

The problem that folks have with Medicare is that it began as a way to provide medical treatment to poor women and their children, and it has morphed into something that encompasses all poor folks. Moreover, each state is forced to pay 43% of the overall bill for Medicare, but they were not given a say in the matter. It was forced upon them by the federal government. Add to this, the fact that Medicare does not pay doctors what their time is worth, and massive, continual budget cuts to the system and you get the current result of rationing of health care within that system. Now, with the current administrations plans on health care, they are proposing to cut the Medicare budget another $400 billion over the next ten years, which would result in a even lower quality and availability of care to those that rely on that system. In addition to that, the sates are going to be required to pay the same 43% of the burden of the new universal coverage system that the government is proposing in 3 to 5 years. But, again, they have no say in this whatsoever. It is being legislated to them by the federal government.

All of this is compounded by the fact that only 2% of medical school graduates go into the field of primary care. Ninety eight percent of the graduates go into a medical specialty. To be sure, some of them do so to get wealthy, but the majority do this in order to have the ability to repay their the debt that they incurred while gaining their education. The small amount that is paid by government programs to reimburse primary care docs is second in reasoning only behind outrageous tort claims and the impact these claims have on malpractice insurance.

If you read my last blog, I relate the CBO's numbers to the number of jobs that will be lost as a result of the new health care legislation. I, along with a growing majority of politicians, democrat and republican, believe this is something that we cannot afford to do to the country at this time. We are already bankrupt, and these spending efforts cannot be continued. Never, in the history of economics and finance, has any person or entity been able to spend their way out of debt. And while it is true that you have to spend money to make money, a democratic form of government has no authority, or capability to create wealth, but merely move it from person to another.

To the mods: this is not a political rant, so please don't take it as such and edit it. I have laid out facts as presented from a non-political entity. I am not saying that nothing should be done about the skyrocketing costs of health care and drugs. Of course it does, but we cannot further backrupt the country in the process.

[Pete53]

In my opinion it serves all of us to be better informed about Medical Coverage and as long as this thread does not get personal or attack politicians or parties it would be useful for our Members. After all Knowledge is Power. To me the sad thing is Veterans are usually on the short end of the stick and in this case unless you have Medical Coverage or Medicare you will not be a part in the great debate.

I also believe that the new Health Insurance Reform will force many Veterans being treated outside the VA into or back into the VA System.

So if a Member Posts in this thread and does not attack a Hadit Member or our duly elected politicians I will not touch it. By the way the only edits I do are to fix a problem not change content. I do unapprove posts that violate rules and inform the poster.

This does not mean that you cannot criticize politicians for plans or schemes that they have you just have to do it with information that can be checked and verified. Cites to partisan webs are not included.

If you have a question please feel free to email me.

I personally feel that both parties have failed Americans regarding Health Care.I have Medicare and have used it and think it is a great program. I wish I could have ChampVA and Medicare like my wife and I would be a happy camper.