cmotherofpirl Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 The American Legion Strongly Opposed to President's Plan to Charge Wounded Heroes for Treatment Mon Mar 16, 5:49 pm ET To: POLITICAL EDITORS Contact: Craig Roberts of The American Legion, +1-202-263-2982 Office, +1-202-406-0887 Cell WASHINGTON, March 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The leader of the nation's largest veterans organization says he is "deeply disappointed and concerned" after a meeting with President Obama today to discuss a proposal to force private insurance companies to pay for the treatment of military veterans who have suffered service-connected disabilities and injuries. The Obama administration recently revealed a plan to require private insurance carriers to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in such cases. "It became apparent during our discussion today that the President intends to move forward with this unreasonable plan," said Commander David K. Rehbein of The American Legion. "He says he is looking to generate $540-million by this method, but refused to hear arguments about the moral and government-avowed obligations that would be compromised by it." The Commander, clearly angered as he emerged from the session said, "This reimbursement plan would be inconsistent with the mandate ' to care for him who shall have borne the battle' given that the United States government sent members of the armed forces into harm's way, and not private insurance companies. I say again that The American Legion does not and will not support any plan that seeks to bill a veteran for treatment of a service connected disability at the very agency that was created to treat the unique need of America's veterans!" Commander Rehbein was among a group of senior officials from veterans service organizations joining the President, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki and Steven Kosiak, the overseer of defense spending at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The group's early afternoon conversation at The White House was precipitated by a letter of protest presented to the President earlier this month. The letter, co-signed by Commander Rehbein and the heads of ten colleague organizations, read, in part, " There is simply no logical explanation for billing a veteran's personal insurance for care that the VA has a responsibility to provide. While we understand the fiscal difficulties this country faces right now, placing the burden of those fiscal problems on the men and women who have already sacrificed a great deal for this country is unconscionable." Commander Rehbein reiterated points made last week in testimony to both House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees. It was stated then that The American Legion believes that the reimbursement plan would be inconsistent with the mandate that VA treat service-connected injuries and disabilities given that the United States government sends members of the armed forces into harm's way, and not private insurance companies. The proposed requirement for these companies to reimburse the VA would not only be unfair, says the Legion, but would have an adverse impact on service-connected disabled veterans and their families. The Legion argues that, depending on the severity of the medical conditions involved, maximum insurance coverage limits could be reached through treatment of the veteran's condition alone. That would leave the rest of the family without health care benefits. The Legion also points out that many health insurance companies require deductibles to be paid before any benefits are covered. Additionally, the Legion is concerned that private insurance premiums would be elevated to cover service-connected disabled veterans and their families, especially if the veterans are self-employed or employed in small businesses unable to negotiate more favorable across-the-board insurance policy pricing. The American Legion also believes that some employers, especially small businesses, would be reluctant to hire veterans with service-connected disabilities due to the negative impact their employment might have on obtaining and financing company health care benefits. "I got the distinct impression that the only hope of this plan not being enacted," said Commander Rehbein, "is for an alternative plan to be developed that would generate the desired $540-million in revenue. The American Legion has long advocated for Medicare reimbursement to VA for the treatment of veterans. This, we believe, would more easily meet the President's financial goal. We will present that idea in an anticipated conference call with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel in the near future. "I only hope the administration will really listen to us then. This matter has far more serious ramifications than the President is imagining," concluded the Commander. SOURCE The American Legion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winchester Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 Commie pieces of poo are supposed to favor the military. He's a [i]dumb [/i]commie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineM Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 My dad once told me that soldiers are paid to take bullets for civilians. They are willing to die for us, to be horribly maimed for us, but now we want them to navigate the maze of private insurance. What happens when their HMO decides that a new prosthetic isn't on their tier? Not to mention the fact that insurance companies will simply deny coverage as pre-existing conditions. I doubt John McCain would have sunk to this low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winchester Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 A soldier's job isn't to die for his country--it's to make some other dumb sob die for [i]his[/i]. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hassan Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 Obama is a great campaigned, a master of manipulating the public to believe he is a quasi messianic figure, or so I am told. But he's politically stupid enough to make wounded soldiers pay for their own treatment? Can you imagain the headlines on the print and video media? "Obama kicks wounded warriors to the curb" Sorry, I don't buy it. I seriously suspect there is something more to this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hassan Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 That's not a partisan point. The military is one of the most admired and trused institutions in the nation. If this article were about Bush I'd also be very skeptical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winchester Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 [quote name='Hassan' post='1809355' date='Mar 16 2009, 09:48 PM']Obama is a great campaigned, a master of manipulating the public to believe he is a quasi messianic figure, or so I am told. But he's politically stupid enough to make wounded soldiers pay for their own treatment? Can you imagain the headlines on the print and video media? "Obama kicks wounded warriors to the curb" Sorry, I don't buy it. I seriously suspect there is something more to this.[/quote] "Obama is awesome: Soldiers cared for by HMOs. OBAMA RULZ!!!" That's a more likely headline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hassan Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 [quote name='Winchester' post='1809359' date='Mar 16 2009, 09:51 PM']"Obama is awesome: Soldiers cared for by HMOs. OBAMA RULZ!!!" That's a more likely headline.[/quote] On MSNBC perhapse. I was wrong before to say that "I don't buy it". I don't have any evidence it is incorrect. I should have just said I strongly suspect there is more to the story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winchester Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 [quote name='Hassan' post='1809363' date='Mar 16 2009, 09:53 PM']On MSNBC perhapse. I was wrong before to say that "I don't buy it". I don't have any evidence it is incorrect. I should have just said I strongly suspect there is more to the story.[/quote] I didn't really pay too much attention to your post, anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hassan Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 [quote name='Winchester' post='1809365' date='Mar 16 2009, 09:55 PM']I didn't really pay too much attention to your post, anyway.[/quote] What ? Everyone here doesn't carefully read, print off, and save my every post? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winchester Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 [quote name='Hassan' post='1809384' date='Mar 16 2009, 10:06 PM']What ? Everyone here doesn't carefully read, print off, and save my every post? [/quote] This is an issue of basic justice. But you, with your 20 years of life and 2 years of college, thinking you know EVERYTHING, would make a swipe about "Christian charity" while supporting Americans being robbed of jobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG45 Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 [quote name='Hassan' post='1809363' date='Mar 16 2009, 10:53 PM']On MSNBC perhapse. I was wrong before to say that "I don't buy it". I don't have any evidence it is incorrect. I should have just said I strongly suspect there is more to the story.[/quote] Thank goodness someone else notices that about MSNBC... As to the OP though, if this is the case, then it is utterly despicable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hassan Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 [quote name='Winchester' post='1809386' date='Mar 16 2009, 09:08 PM']This is an issue of basic justice. But you, with your 20 years of life and 2 years of college, thinking you know EVERYTHING, would make a swipe about "Christian charity" while supporting Americans being robbed of jobs.[/quote] I used to not make swipes, but then I solved every argument and got tired of repeating myself. It just isn't fair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmotherofpirl Posted March 17, 2009 Author Share Posted March 17, 2009 [url="http://www.legion.org/homepage.php"]http://www.legion.org/homepage.php[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Vega Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 Sickening and disgraceful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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