Bush Administration Proposes Cut in Veteran Benefits

Nurses Activism

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It seems that our President has given his blessing, no he specifically gave his approval, to cut benefits to veterans, increase the out of pocket cost some veterans pay for their meds, cut benefits/services, especially out-patient services at several facilities nationwide, and charge this new generation of veterans about $250.00 per stay in facilitles. This was a blurp I heard on CNN earlier this AM.

I did not get all of the blurp but when I heard this my blood pressure started going up. How dare he place the lives of our young people in harms way with his oil war, show disrespect to the veterans who have served in past times,and say "here's your bill" to the newer veterans. I may not have every fact straight but I have enough to have to pray extra hard this AM for this man. When, O Lord, are we going to see an end to this pretender? :confused:

Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.
Hey Kevin: VA budget $1BILLON shortfall
Did you even read this thread? Or just skim the title?

Those that are"maimed in his name" do get medical care for all service connected disabilities. Kevin covered that quite well in his posts. And, if it is service connected, it matters not how the injury or illness was sutained.

bob

Yes, but increases out-of-pocket costs is the issue - which, speaking as the daughter of a Korea-Vietnam War veteran with a widowed mother who is a beneficiary of these benefits, I can tell you can be a REAL problem.

They're talking about cutting benefits - which would increase out-of-pocket costs for ALL military. THAT'S what's being discussed - costs would go up regardless of whether or NOT the disability, illness, or prescription was service related.

Yes, the people who are injured have bills to pay - not everything is typically covered. Military retirees who get sick still get bills - granted, they're typically much lower, but they still have bills. Trust me - I speak from experience.

Oh, and before anyone goes there, let me say that the WIVES (and now, commonly, husbands) of these veterans have sacrificed more in their lives than MOST civilians I know. My mother watched my father go to Korea, go on six-month cruises, get put on standby for the Bay of Pigs, go to Da'Nang Air Base during Tet in Vietnam; she moved four of us without question (usually alone, because Daddy had already been sent) during years when women were primarily staying at home taking care of the family and not working. She supported him through war, peace, long deployments, disappointments, and small family victories. In later years she watched him suffer from neuropathy which neurologists in two states at four major universities were convinced was a result of agent orange from Vietnam or sarin gas onboard ship during Korea (yes, our illustrious government has admitted to testing sarin on sailors in the South Pacific on ships my father happened to be on at the times and locations reported - all without their consent or even knowledge) - but which the VA denied claim after claim for. When my father died in April from multilobular bacterial necrotizing pneumonia, he was changing Duragesic 100 mcg patches every other day and popping up to seven Tylox daily as well as taking an SSRI under an off-label use for chronic pain management - and this combination didn't even begin to touch the pain he was constantly in. I will always believe that our wonderful government is indirectly responsible for my father's seemingly early death at 74.

So my mother is more than entitled to what she now receives as a benefit of being married to a 28 year Navy veteran for just shy of 51 years.

I say this because I see someone coming after the spouses of these men and women and I just felt the need to nip it in the bud! :coollook:

And don't get me wrong - I have my share of time in service, with two tours during Desert Storm. I'm just waiting for the anthrax shots I was forced to take to cause me to give birth to something horrible rather than a normal baby. And then there's the residual effects from WHATEVER was dropped over there that the government denies (which makes me think it was so-called "friendly fire")...who knows what cancers I may find myself eaten up with in thirty years or so? I have a brother who retired from the Navy after 24 years onboard nuclear submarines, and another brother retired from the 101st Airborne Division, so who knows what's waiting for any of us...

Specializes in Anesthesia.

I see nothing wrong with vets paying a small deductibles for medical care. Two-hundred and fifty dollars is a small amount to pay for a normal hospital stay. As far as vets paying for their meals while in the hospital; Does anyone know that we get a monthly stipend added to our paychecks to help pay for food? That stipend more than covers the charge.

Don't get me wrong only the patients that can afford to pay the deductible should be have to pay it. We need to set up a system to determine whom is eligible to pay for it and who is not.

I know since I have been on active duty I have paid thousands out of my own pocket to pay for prescriptions and dental care for my special needs daughter ( she was born without enamel on her teeth and she has to have her medications compounded/the military doesn't pay for compounding meds), and I was very happy to do it. My medical benefits in the Air Force far out weigh anything I received on the civilian side. Before anyone judges what our vets medical benefits are they should research it for theirselves and not just listen to sensational reporters.

As far as the one post for the veteran whom wasn't able to get the VA to cover the cost of their appendectomy. I would suggest a personal visit to VA and talking to the patient advocate. Their are special offices/people that deal with just this sort of thing, and if that person doesn't return your call go up the chain of command. Anybody that has dealt with goverment knows their is a ton of bureaucracy, and the VA is no different.

I know the military medical system is not perfect, but I would compare my benefits to anyone on the civilian side!

Nurse/active duty USAF

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

this what concerns me as a vet and wife of active duty man. It's not about being unwilling to "pay our share" but having that "share" increase ever-more and benefits PROMISED US when we "signed on the line" reduced right under us. Before we "give away" medical care to ANYONE in this country (and it's not working poor), no vet should do without what he/she was promised and is deserved after serving HONORABLY this country. A very small population of our residents in this country have actually served in the military a single day, let alone an honorable 10 or 20 years or more. Let not the ones who sacrificed the most keep on having to "take it in the shorts". This is wrong. :angryfire

I see nothing wrong with vets paying a small deductibles for medical care. Two-hundred and fifty dollars is a small amount to pay for a normal hospital stay. As far as vets paying for their meals while in the hospital; Does anyone know that we get a monthly stipend added to our paychecks to help pay for food? That stipend more than covers the charge.

Don't get me wrong only the patients that can afford to pay the deductible should be have to pay it. We need to set up a system to determine whom is eligible to pay for it and who is not.

I know since I have been on active duty I have paid thousands out of my own pocket to pay for prescriptions and dental care for my special needs daughter ( she was born without enamel on her teeth and she has to have her medications compounded/the military doesn't pay for compounding meds), and I was very happy to do it. Nurse/active duty USAF

EVERYONE pays for food when they are hospitalized. Anyone who doesn't think that's true is...well, they're not really thinking.

And since many of these "veterans" we're talking about are in their sixties and retired (and many are older) - no, they SHOULDN'T have to pay a deductible for their health care. That's horrible.

I find it interesting that Tricare is refusing payment for your daughter's medications. We compound stuff at my particular CVS all the time and submit it to Tricare, who pays it.

Here's the link to the FAQ on the Tricare site: http://www.tricare.osd.mil/faqs/question.aspx?ID=442&page=0&search=compound%20&click=ibGo.X

What may be happening is the drug is not available at an MTF (military treatment facility) - which does happen.

http://www.tricare.osd.mil/faqs/question.aspx?ID=1616&page=0&search=compound%20&click=ibGo.X

They also pay, no questions asked, for my mother's compounded prescription. What may be required is proof of continued medical need from the physician/dentist caring for your daughter.

Sometimes you have to fight with them - but they WILL pay.

this what concerns me as a vet and wife of active duty man. It's not about being unwilling to "pay our share" but having that "share" increase ever-more and benefits PROMISED US when we "signed on the line" reduced right under us. Before we "give away" medical care to ANYONE in this country (and it's not working poor), no vet should do without what he/she was promised and is deserved after serving HONORABLY this country. A very small population of our residents in this country have actually served in the military a single day, let alone an honorable 10 or 20 years or more. Let not the ones who sacrificed the most keep on having to "take it in the shorts". This is wrong. :angryfire

YESS YESSS YESSSSS!!!!!

It was like when CHAMPUS was pretty much dismantled and taken away from retirees beginning in the early 1980s. It amounted to a lie by the feds (which we should really take as business as usual, right?). I can remember no longer being able to get BASIC DENTAL CARE on base because my father was a retiree. (And I was a KID - about 10 years old!) My own FATHER was told he couldn't get dental care any longer back then.

My parents weren't even AWARE of Tricare for Life until I practically crammed the information in my father's head when I was on active duty myself. Because at first, enrollment was neither publicized nor encouraged.

You're right; it's disgusting. Half of Congress hasn't even SEEN a military installation - much less SERVED for any amount of time. What IS the problem???

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
YESS YESSS YESSSSS!!!!!

It was like when CHAMPUS was pretty much dismantled and taken away from retirees beginning in the early 1980s. It amounted to a lie by the feds (which we should really take as business as usual, right?). I can remember no longer being able to get BASIC DENTAL CARE on base because my father was a retiree. (And I was a KID - about 10 years old!) My own FATHER was told he couldn't get dental care any longer back then.

My parents weren't even AWARE of Tricare for Life until I practically crammed the information in my father's head when I was on active duty myself. Because at first, enrollment was neither publicized nor encouraged.

You're right; it's disgusting. Half of Congress hasn't even SEEN a military installation - much less SERVED for any amount of time. What IS the problem???

The problem is, when you have no personal experience with a situation, or personal investment, it's easy to cut corners and funding. Less than half? Try 2%. That's right; the Congress has roughly 2% of its representatives that actually have served in the military, and fewer still, of its own sons and daughters serving NOW. That is the problem, as I see it.
Specializes in Anesthesia.
this what concerns me as a vet and wife of active duty man. It's not about being unwilling to "pay our share" but having that "share" increase ever-more and benefits PROMISED US when we "signed on the line" reduced right under us. Before we "give away" medical care to ANYONE in this country (and it's not working poor), no vet should do without what he/she was promised and is deserved after serving HONORABLY this country. A very small population of our residents in this country have actually served in the military a single day, let alone an honorable 10 or 20 years or more. Let not the ones who sacrificed the most keep on having to "take it in the shorts". This is wrong. :angryfire

I can understand everyone's concern about paying deductibles, but we as military benificaries are ruining are own system. When we come in for a bottle of motrin, go to the doctor for simple colds, headaches for 2hrs, bloodshot eyes etc. We overtax our own medical system. Each one of those visits usually ends up costing the military hundreds of dollars (lab work/x-rays/personell). As far as what we promised when signed on the dotted line....there is nothing about free healthcare for life. That is what the recruiter probably said, but I stopped believing everything my recruiter said a long time ago.

Ask pretty much anyone in the military medical field and we will tell you a small $5-$10 deductible for visits would go a long way into stopping unnecessary use/costs of the military medical visits.

We have indigent catagories on the civilian side, and their is no reason we couldn't have it on the military side.

I love my benefits and the USAF, but we are going to ruin our own military medical system if something is not implemented.

Air Force Nurse

We need to fund those tax cuts for the wealthy somehow.............

Specializes in Anesthesia.
We need to fund those tax cuts for the wealthy somehow.............

Actually it is about funding defense for our nation, but that is a good point too....

I can understand everyone's concern about paying deductibles, but we as military benificaries are ruining are own system. When we come in for a bottle of motrin, go to the doctor for simple colds, headaches for 2hrs, bloodshot eyes etc. We overtax our own medical system. Each one of those visits usually ends up costing the military hundreds of dollars (lab work/x-rays/personell). As far as what we promised when signed on the dotted line....there is nothing about free healthcare for life. That is what the recruiter probably said, but I stopped believing everything my recruiter said a long time ago.

Ask pretty much anyone in the military medical field and we will tell you a small $5-$10 deductible for visits would go a long way into stopping unnecessary use/costs of the military medical visits.

We have indigent catagories on the civilian side, and their is no reason we couldn't have it on the military side.

I love my benefits and the USAF, but we are going to ruin our own military medical system if something is not implemented.

Air Force Nurse

I don't know that I agree with you - but I think you're on the right track. But I also know from experience that, even in the civilian world, deductibles and copays don't stop abuse of the system.

The problem is, when you have no personal experience with a situation, or personal investment, it's easy to cut corners and funding. Less than half? Try 2%. That's right; the Congress has roughly 2% of its representatives that actually have served in the military, and fewer still, of its own sons and daughters serving NOW. That is the problem, as I see it.

I would assume that more Congressmen than 2% have actually seen a base. (But they've probably only seen one when it's shown up on the latest list from BRAC, when their constituency is verbal about threatened jobs - a nice change from the griping many of them do about jet noise when the base is prospering). Actually, I'm surprised that a whopping 2% have actually served, which is what I'm taking your figure to be.

I think military service - ENLISTED military service - of at least two years should be required of all Congressmen/women AND the president. I think many of them would change their tune after six months in a tent in the middle of nowhere with a broken A/C unit back at the tent in 122 degree heat, canteen water, no Internet or cell phones, and a thirty pound pack to tote while walking perimeter fencing that looks out onto nothing. Oh, and porta-potties that have been there since the FIRST Gulf War, a la the now-defunct Prince Sultan Air Base, which was still sporting a few of these lovely historical relics at the time of its closure to US combatants in 2003. :barf02:

After a little live fire action they might - just MIGHT - get the point.

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