Bachmann proposes cuts to veterans benefits

The $12,800 number represents what AIr Force Times refers to the AVERAGE of SSDI annual benefits, per veteran, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

This is nibbling around the edges.

I’m a veteran, and if it was up to me, I would dismantle the VA hospital system which would save 10 times that much.

Let veterans who need and qualify for free medical care show up at any civilian hospital and get treated by simply showing their DD214. Better care at a lower cost for everyone.

“Actually, the CBO measured that its repeal would not save, but add $230 billion to the deficit over 10 years.”

Right. We’re going to add 40 million more people to the insurance rolls and it’s not going to cost us anything. In fact, it’s going to save us $230 billion over 10 years. They think you’re stupid.

Dennis -

It’s a good thing it isn’t up to you then.

They may think we’re stupid – they know you are stupid.

Dennis, I agree with you on the VA medical system. You’re all wrong, however, about the cost savings from health care reform.

Dennis might be surprised that his statement is but another call for single-payer universal health care system where everyone gets the care they need at any hospital. No need for all that folderol about which insurance company, which plan with that insurance company, which government program, etc. etc. Much simpler and oodles less administrative costs including bloated CEO pay.

Dennis,

Unfortunately you have no idea what you’re talking about. By streamlining the system and forcing more people to cover Health Insurance you reduce the need for emergency government programs like Medicaid/Medicare. For example, Citizen A has no health insurance. He has a heart attack. He ends up being covered being partially covered by Medicaid but still has to declare bankruptcy which requires MORE government intervention. Flip Citizen A to having insurance….. problem solved!

This stuff really isn’t hard to comprehend. Unfortunately you spend way too much time watching or listening to right wing propoganda.

You people (and the CBO) are ignoring the increase in costs for health insurance policies … increases to cover the costs of paying for things like pre-existing conditions and 26 year-old “children” and the increased cost for 40 million people who will now want to take advantage of their “free health care.”

So far over 700 companies and unions have recieved waivers from Obamacare because they can’t afford it. Ask anyone who’s paying for their own policy how much their premiums have gone up just since the law was passed.

No government entitlement program has ever saved the taxpayers any money.

Site your sources Dennis. No more claims.

Keep up the good job, Dennis, in arguing for single-payer universal health care.

Rates increases are nothing new.

” Today, the average cost of a family health insurance offered by an employer is $13,375. That’s up 131% over the last decade—a period in which inflation rose only 28%.” -TIME 2009

Why do they increase? PROFIT!!
” Health Insurance Industry Fudges Data To Downplay Its Astronomical Profits” at http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/08/05/are-health-insurers-making-too-much-money/

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I think this is about “anti-American” as it gets. Do the republicans in Moron’s district LIKE being lied to and being PIMPED by the Moron and Koch-suckers?

Tim Walz is on the Veteran’s Affairs Committee and he will be less like;ly to agree with Bachmann about cutting any money from Veterans.

Send them to war, but don’t take care of them when they need it.

Responding to Dennis’ 2:02PM meaningless rant about price increases, the concise article at http://factcheck.org/2010/11/the-truth-about-health-insurance-premiums/ offers a better, detailed perspective. This quick, informative read is worth a few minutes of your time. Be properly informed; after all, it is your health and the health of those you love that is at stake.

Since I am a veteran and I have worked in VA hospitals after separating I have to agree that many of them are below par and should be done away with. HOWEVER, either way you slice this pie, it’s not going to work. Companies under the Obamacare have found it cheaper to pay the fine for not providing insurance to their employees because they have so many. Others get waivers because they are so small and can not afford to. Health insurance companies raise the premiums because they know we have to have it, even with the current employee share at some companies (I paid over $200 per paycheck at one company) I could not afford to pay my bills, feed my family and put gas in my car to get to work. The high cost of self insuring, it likely the real reason so many Americans don’t have their own insurance. Combine that with the fact that those same people make too much money to get healthcare from the state or federal government you have a recipe for disaster.

Ms. Bachmann’s proposals hit hard. Sure the VA has many issues that need attention. Privatizing the VA would be a literal death sentence to many of the wounded. I know wounded Vets that must have “aid and attendance”. Brain damaged soliders medically retired from the military that can not drive and take themselves to medical appointments. Privatize them? Some of the TBI’s sit in basements for days on end. They stand in the middle of streets forgetting who they are and where they are at. VA helps these people, a lot. These retired wounded are people in their 20′s. They are “as good as they are going to get”. Recently a horribly wounded Vet, medically retired from the Army became very ill due to wounds from the Afghan Campaign. This young guy (he is only 25) lost over eight (8) feet of intesting, a piece of his skull and ohter body parts. Family had to take him to an emergency room for complications due to his wounds and then get the VA to pay for it. Eventually is all worked out. Without theVA, where would the young Vet, his pregnant wife and three (3) little girls be? O.K. I know there is still room under bridge overpasses.

Ms. Bachmann has no human compassion. There are a lot of very hurt young people that have come back from the wars. More are coming. Lets issue them washable and reusable bandages. Cost savings for Ms. Bachmann’s program.

Dale R. Suiter
USA (ret)
Atlanta, MI

Dennis,

You wrote: “No government entitlement program has ever saved the taxpayers any money.”

With this one has to assume you simply don’t read anything with which you don’t already agree.

American health care costs are higher than pretty much anywhere else. You probably didn’t know that, did you?

You’re likely also not aware that worldwide health care economists generally regard the American health care system as unworkable or at least the worst of many other systems. This is why many governments around the world have a heavy involvement in their systems. And guess what? They’re much cheaper than ours–and more sustainable.

Yep – Our system hurts our competitiveness and our veterans. You dont find the stars of the medical profession at the VA. Neither do I at my local clinic. Lady K’s remark is interesting. Take care of them when they’re in, but not when they’re out. Remind you of any other issues?

“This is why many governments around the world have a heavy involvement in their systems. And guess what?”

They come to our Mayo clinic when they are really sick.

Dennis,

As usual you ignore the thrust of my point. Do you not understand argument?

Dennis, guess what? Risky medical tourism to at least 50 countries is booming because a lot of Americans either cannot afford the cost here for whatever reason – perhaps unable to get coverage due to pre-existing conditions, for example.

One would think that as a Navy veteran, you would show some compassion to the plight of the walking wounded that Dale Suiter referred to. As it is, I am going to break one of my rules to focus on the issue and not on the commenter, and say that you are truly a P.O.S.. Begone!

It’s a dam shame our country steals our youths to do battle for them, then expects `them to take care of their wounds.

Well how out that? After all the pro-veteran rehtoric at election time. Another politician backpedals, One thing, You would be well advised to remember her as well you NON vets who’s kids are being propositioned by the recruiters at graduation time. We vets WILL remember you and your party next election here in MN, Even IF this does not pass. Its shocking you even agree. Michelle.
A Disabeled Vet In MN.

Dennis,
You are lying. The VA has better service than the private market, by a long shot. That is coming from the New England Journal of Medicine. I am also a VA patient and think it is fabulous. You spit on your brother’s in arms, all to support a right wing extremist. Pathetic.

“New England Journal of Medicine published a study that compared veterans health facilities on 11 measures of quality with fee-for-service Medicare. On all 11 measures, the quality of care in veterans facilities proved to be “significantly better.”

Or this one Dennis.

“The Annals of Internal Medicine recently published a study that compared veterans health facilities with commercial managed-care systems in their treatment of diabetes patients. In seven out of seven measures of quality, the VA provided better care. ”

“the National Committee for Quality Assurance today ranks health-care plans on 17 different performance measures. These include how well the plans manage high blood pressure or how precisely they adhere to standard protocols of evidence-based medicine such as prescribing beta blockers for patients recovering from a heart attack. Winning NCQA’s seal of approval is the gold standard in the health-care industry. And who do you suppose this year’s winner is: Johns Hopkins? Mayo Clinic? Massachusetts General? Nope. In every single category, the VHA system outperforms the highest rated non-VHA hospitals. “

This article mentions “reducing Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) payments for veterans” whereas the MinnPost article mentions “reducing veterans’ disability compensation by the amount received in Social Security Disability Income … as a way to ‘eliminate duplicate payment of public compensation for a single disability.’” This omission of offsetting coupled with the failure to indicate that the AVERAGE annual SSDI benefit is $12,800 is in my opinion irresponsible journalism.

http://www.minnpost.com/politicalagenda/2011/01/28/25322/bachmanns_proposed_budget_cuts_would_affect_veterans

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6872403/

You people are in denial. Or worse. You want veterans to suffer.

http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfdec08/nf122808-1.htm

If you google “VA hospitals suck” you get almost 7 million hits.

I guess the VFW, American LEgion, and Disabled American Vets are all in denial too Dennis. They all agree with the facts that the VA provides better quality than the private market. I will side with the people who work for Vets. You can side with The Google.

heh heh

If you google “Dennis suck” you get 4,420,000 hits in 0.14 seconds.

Of all the dumb!

Dennis cites the article at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6872403/ which describes an overburdened VA hospital system, unable to keep up with the demand. How does capping/slashing funding help resolve this situation?

Capping funding should be accompanied by a total cessation of all wars and other dangerous activity so that we can start to help those who need medical attention. Once we’ve caught up with the backlog, then we can slash funding. But we know that this will never happen. And many of the wounded will never be whole again or will require ongoing care.

Dennis’ commenting is even MORE irresponsible than the two quibbles I have with how this article was written. Not only is it not funny, but it is getting quite boring and tiresome.

“If you google “VA hospitals suck” you get almost 7 million hits.”

Goggle any “X hospitals suck” you’ll get a number of hits proportionate to the size of the hospital network.

The HC bill does “save” $230B over 10 years. How?

1.) $770B in taxes – $540B in spending = $230B
2.) Fuzzy math:
a. The government-subsidized HC for 32 million Americans doesn’t kick in until 2014. 10 years of taxation to pay for 6 years of spending will make the numbers appear better than they actually are. What about the 10 years after that? Unless the government plans on providing HC for these new (and growing) recipients for only 6 of those 10 years as well, the numbers won’t look so rosy.
b. The “long-term care” entitlement “saves” $70B over the next 10 years by collecting revenue, but paying out NOTHING during that time. What will those numbers look like beyond 2020?
3. The numbers are also based on promises of FUTURE SPENDING CUTS, which the CBO is forced to accept.

Basically, congress provided the CBO with rigged numbers, and the CBO had no choice but to spit out the results congress wanted, to be used later in defense of the bill.

There is a lot of credibility issues as to the numbers – whether they be from CBO or the Republicans or even from Brian above.

Ms, Bachmann is amazing. Historically, we have always sent the poorest people of our nation into wars and then when 41,000 wounded come back from Afghanistan, we turn our back on them. We have an awful lot of veterans out there who deserve the best care we can manage. Those of us who served in Vietnam were shunned by the nation and the VA when we came back. Now that we are finally trying to correct that the Ms. Bachmanns of the nation are going to attempt to deny any compensation. Despite the fact that there are very few veterans in our congress, I doubt her bill will gain any traction. It is idiotic. May God bless wounded veterans and the families….some of whom gave all.

Ms. Bachmann’s idea of double dipping is laughable, considering other Private sector workers often collect disability AND SSD. Does she even realize that the Veterans who qualify for Social Security Disability and Va Compensation are among the sickest and most disabled Veterans? Did she bother to meet with these Veterans and their families and talk about how such an action would put them below the poverty line? Is that the kind of treatment she believes is right for he who has borne the battle?

One of the true jobs of the Congress is to care for our Veterans, our founding fathers believed in doing so. She needs to review what they believed on the subject. When you are talking about wounded soldiers who continue to sacrifice for the rest of their lives, her proposals seem cruel. Especially from a woman whose family has taken tens of thousands of dollars in farm subsidies in the past.

Thank God for the DAV, the VFW and American Legion. Without them we would have even more homeless Veterans. Shame on you Bachmann. As far as excellent care from the VA hospitals it varies greatly depending upon the facility. Some centers have low weighting time and excellent care while other areas you can wait months for an appointment and they are highly overburdened. No one who is physically unable to work and SSD and Va compensation is getting rich. Far better to focus on the overpayment of Federal Workers whose pay has skyrocketed over the last several years.

One only has to look to a Study done by the Bush Administration that Bob Dole was a part of that looked into this issue and said that our Disabled Veterans who are 100% Permanent and Totally Disabled were grossly undercompensated and needed to look at raising their compensation. This NEVER went forward, which means cutting people who are already struggling financially is just a slap in the face to those who have given up their health and bodies to defend this country.

Its begs the question is Bachmann out of touch with the lives of our severely disabled veterans and the struggles they face financially and physically?, the answer is undeniably YES.

what is wrong with people if you are sick injured or what ever , you should be able to go see a doctor and get help , bottom line what is wrong with that . has everyone lost all their compation towards other people ,
when a vet serves in the military i don’t care if its one day they do our dirty work they deserve a whole lot more than they get ,
i would never do it again that is join the military because it is not the government its the people who are the problem , i got absolutely no support from people when i was done , i wear my scares every day
bachman is out fighting the people and has no idea what we go threw because of her arrogant attitude VOTE HER OUT AND PUT HER IN HER PLACE ray ps lane i have seen your post before keep it up

Hey Bachmann, I’m a disabled vet and have taken your advice and am now armed and dangerous. Armed with knowledge and dangerous to ignorant people like you.

Bachmann is a threat and if Veterans Compensation and/or SSDI payments were cut, I would venture to say that many Disabled Veterans would lose their homes and lose their ability to sustain their already meager existence. Thier families would suffer.

I am a Disabled American Veteran. Up until I became fully disabled in 2006 I had worked for 35 plus years obtained a graduate level education and was making a just on th cusp of a six figure income.

VA Compensation and SSDI payments are my RIGHT. I earned both of them and paid into both with sacrifice and taxes.

Bachman – go to hell.

Bachmann represents all that is wrong in America.

Chris – what is your service-related disability?

Dennis

Civilian hospitals are not fully equipt to deal with the needs of our veterans. I believe the best thing for our vets is to have a system that deals with their needs only. The main problem with our VA system is that its funds keep getting threatened and our children keep getting sent to pointless wars by psychotic congress people.

Dennis…… What is yours being retarded? Navy huh I bet you were a peckerchecker…

R is for retard
D is for Dumbass

real cool answer Chris you ought to be ashamed of yourself if you cant carry on a legitimate debate stay off do yourself a favor
slandering a fellow vet real cool , even if you disagree you don’t do it

vets need v.a. the civilian population will never know what its like to be injured in the military., especially by their own command

If you google “Dennis is a complete fat idiot” you get get 8 million hits

See Dennis, you’re not the only person who can make things up.

The day this nation can’t afford to take care of its veterans is the day this nation should quit creating them.

Dennis is the one that insulted Chris, with his closed minded, one party, one line thinking.

good post Jeff

My disabilities are between me an my caregivers. Peckerchecker is navy slang for a hospital corpsman that doesn’t know anything but how to ID clap after shore leave.

Dennis will never agree to facts…
If we ever came into contact our two alternate realities may touch and blow up the universe.

R is for retard
D is for dumbass

That should insult everyone….

Once again the folks in Bachmann’s district show their stupidity by voting her in again. The whole district can go to hell

@Minnesotablue

For the line of thinking that the people have that voted for Bachmann, they will be going to hell. for all of them are in their own line of thinking, their own line of religion, the biggest sinners of all.

Dennis (and Paul Ryan, Michelle Bachmann, etc.) like to talk about how much insurance premiums for those who are self-insured have increased since the health care reform bill passed. What they don’t say is that these premiums have been going up dramatically for years. My premiums for a high deductible self-insured plan have gone up more than 20 percent a year for at least three years in a row…

hey don’t insult us all i didn’t vote for bachman in fact no one will admit they voted for bachman when i ask them how she ever got elected i will never know
but lets get back to the original debate
chris cool it i know it angers you but cool down it angers me to dennis doesnt know what he is talking about if the dod gave a 90 day cool down period for vets with there family’s involved after discharge we would not have so many problems
as i see it the head is not being taken into consideration upon discharge and that seems to be a major problem for most vets combat or no combat
the bottom line is vets need help and bachman wants to take that away end of story
but meanwhile i am sure many vets voted for her in the last election
be sure how you vote or just follow bachman for a while and decide for yourself

but please don’t hack at each other haven’t we all been thrue enough please

You’re right, ray. MOST vets support Bachmann and what she stands for because most vets aren’t liberal weenies looking for the government to take care of them.

dennis name calling abusive remarks [liberal weenie ] doesn’t make a point come across as a meaningful statement they just look at the word you used so after many many years in the political arena my advice is to keep it simple to the point control your anger and give your message

i am a vet who was seriously injured by my own command wich is very hard for me to deal with
i guess my point is i am a liberal weenie on some issue and a radical right on other issues
on this topic i am a liberal weenie on this issue the vets need help and lots of it

in the 1500s they gave the warriors a 7 day cool down period in rejoining there family’s. we just dump them back into society take up where you left off and hope the civilian population who has no idea what you went threw to expect to help you
it cant work like that and the dod is leaning that the hard way and bachman is exalting it SHE OUGHT TO BE ASHAMED OF HERSELF up until a few days ago i never felt like an honored vet i was ashamed today i am glad of what i did and it was huge and we all seen it on tv and i take no credit for it
so today i will stand up as a honored vet vets helping vets forget the politic behind it just help your fellow vet because he or she needs you because the civilians will never understand i say pour as much money and time in helping vets and it is mostly talk therapy to help them all we want is someone to listen to us

bachman will not listen she has her agenda planned i hope she runs for vp she isn’t going to run for president she will then need to give up her seat she will never win on a ticket i am soory i rambled just help a vet thanks i didnt re read this i hope it understood to what i am trying to say

Ray, if you are able, many of us readers would appreciate your taking the time to capitalize the appropriate words and use punctuation. Thank you for your service – and for letting us know your perspective, too.

Ray, as someone who knows many disabled people, some of whom have to type with pencils in their mouth or use other non-traditional means to use a keyboard, let me say that I don’t mind that your words are not structured “properly.”

you go into combat you witch.

first of all , i would agree with you lane ,that i need to write better in order to get my point across .I will try harder at that .
lane if you remember we had other discussions where i put my last name ,i definitely agree with you
Dennis i appreciate the understanding and hope that people will try and understand what i am trying to say.

lets get to the bottom of all the post and what we can agree on

1 bachman wants to cut some v.a. benefits in which we all agree is a bad idea
2 civilian hospital vrs v.a. hospitals i believe there is a need for both, my doctors work both at the v.a. and also private practice
3 the Congressional budget office doesn’t and cant take in all aspects of the veterans needs
4 most all of us who have posted make good points ,please reread all the post and take all the good in, and throw out the bad .
5 we all agree that the vets are not being taken care of ,but in my heart i believe that it is changing slowly but surly but definitely not fast enough
6 there is a lot of abuse of governmental programs
7 vets are very misunderstood
8 it is important to keep your injury’s and or dysfunctions to you and your care giver the world doesn’t need to know
9 there were and still are many civilians who were not in the military who do understand the needs of a vet
10 there was a lot of name calling and bad use of language on this topic we fought we are not happy with how things turned out , that is obvious
11 combat or no combat vets need help
12 the government keeps us divided to further their own agenda, lets stand together
we must stand together

so lets all take a deep breath and come together for the sole purpose of helping vets, please, Also don’t feel sorry for me ,help me ,but please don,t ridicule me
it deepens my pain
everyone has some valid points and a conviction to this or you wouldn’t have posted

lane, Dennis, Chris and the rest are all good people and have a common goal ,how do we get there in helping vets , its all up to you , name calling won,t get us there

George i don’t even know what that means, except a simple rebuttal from me , is that for 500 years or more of documented cases people come back from battle with family members saying they are not the same as they were when they went in

but tonight i am going to come to my desk and say a prayer for each and everyone of you because i think we all could use one , and please remember its not about what we did or how many medals , or combat or no combat , because if you posted
you hurt, you feel pain , your tired and probably feel a sense of injustice

at the time we all needed each other to survive that bond never goes away and we still need each other till we are laid to rest , then its God,s turn
ps i am not trying to divide, i am trying to come together as we once did that first day in boot , for most many years ago please there is no need to blast me i died 29 years ago

> 8 it is important to keep your injury’s and or dysfunctions to you and your care giver the world doesn’t need to know

I don’t know that the world doesn’t necessarily need to know. Generally, the lack of awareness by others doesn’t lead to a questioning of the status quo as well as perpetuate the attitudes and ignorance that prevent a person with a disability from participating as fully as possible in society including access to medical assistance and enabling technologies.

Did you know that the movement to empower people with disabilities has its roots in the aftermath of World War I when many injured veterans came home to a kinder, gentler America that was still a community of farms, small towns and large families?

Bachmann’s proposal – meh.

the world needs to know the horrors , i guess my point was you shouldn’t be singled out
it just brings more hurt ,
but you are right lane
bachmans proposal- meh
i agree most definitely thanks lane

i did pray last night that this little debate would empower people and it looks like it did because there were no post ripping on each other,
that’s all i wanted
you see it is very hard for me to get what is in my brain out on paper or out of my mouth
a horror indeed

[...] Michele Bachmann took a lot of heat last week from veterans groups that criticized her plan to trim the deficit by cutting back on veterans [...]

“No government entitlement program has ever saved the taxpayers any money.”

Dennis,
I observed Medicare charges for 30 years-it is the best cost saving program, ever, based on how it pays. Dismantling the VA and going to the HEALTH CARE FOR PROFIT is even more expensive. It’s based on cost to deliver service-it pays them to charge more, do more tests.
Mayo Clinic is the model the entire nation should be using to hold down costs. too.
I CALLED BACHMANN’S OFFICE TO COMMENT ON HER REPRHENSIVE LOGIC AND THEY DENIED SHE SAID THIS. She was misquoted, they said. That’s just crazy.

Weird that some posters want to destroy the VA system entirely. It’s the most efficient major health care delivery system in the US. Further, the veterans who use it have earned their health care through their service. Now that conservatives don’t value the two active wars any more, and they’ve run the military ragged by not staffing it to the size of it’s obligations, it looks like they’re ready to dump vets overboard.

Just like back in Ronnie Reagan’s day – buy you the gun to fight with, but not the wheel chair you need when you’re carried home, wounded.

Veterans should be turned away from the VA …. but those Republicans made sure that the wealthiest among us keep very low tax rates.

I don’t ever want to read another Republican proclaiming their support for the troops, their love of country. Hypocrites

In all reality, here is probably what is going to happen to Veterans in the next 5 years.
VA spending will greatly reduced if not capped. Or the VA will succeed in removing 65 plus veterans from Medicare and giving care at the VA, where there is less fraud and waste. The argument about quality will go away as more and more doctors refuse to accept Medicare cause of billing caps coming into place. There are about 28 million Vets and only about 7 million use the VA. For non-65 vets and non service connected vets, co pay amounts will be increased and ENFORCED.
disability compensation: all annual increases in compensation rates will be stopped. They have already adjusted the COLA formula de facto to make that happen. (this is also happening to SS.)
SS disability duplication will be targeted on a new claims basis. Existing Vets will be exempt.
Finally, the age exemption for Unemployability payments will be targeted.

It is time we fight this reality and hits the streets. It is time to March on Washington. the VA budget is 3.7 percent of government spending and vital to the recruitment process.

Our Veterans have put their necks on the line to defend the very same freedoms our government are trying to take away. My father was a POW in the Phillipines during WWII for 3 years. He was one of the lucky to make it home. He was called to the Korean Conflict and contracted polio. He spent the rest of his life as a disabled Veteran barely able to walk. He went for a check up at the VA hospital and died of a heart attack. If anything, our Veterans deserve the care and respect well deserved. Politicians, leave our Veterans alone. Haven’t they suffered enough?!

I always get a good burst of amazement when I hear people talk about “Getting any care you need at any Hospital you like, if only we had “Single Payer”. Delusions must be very comforting.

When I enlisted in 1976, the government was still selling the snake oil that if you enlisted in the Armed Forces and stayed to retirement, you would have “free health care for life”. Then came the Dawn!

I stayed for 22 years and retired, I was informed that I needed a retirement physical so I got one completed at the local TMC. After the exam I was informed that I had qualifying disabilities but that I would need to have another exam by a VA doctor then I would have to submit a request for disability. I went to the local VA clinic, and scheduled my exam. The earliest they could get me in was 18 month out. So I scheduled the exam and waited, and waited and waited, Oh by the way, I was denied access to VA facilities during this wait, just as an added benefit, a year and half of paying out of pocket for a civilian to see me when I got sick.

Then the exam day came.

I was ushered into an exam room, and immediately informed by the attending physician, who happened to be a civilian contractor from Pakistan who barely spoke any English, but she spoke enough to inform me that she was fed up with retirees coming in and faking injuries just to get disability. I stayed there and endured the abuse by the “Wicked Witch of the East” just to get the exam over with, then I reported her to the Facility Commander, who informed me that he was aware of her attitude problem, but that he could not get rid of her due to her contractor status. Needless to say I have not returned to that facility. Another year passed and they finally sent me the disability letter with a rating of 40%, along with a bill of $385.00 for the VA exam. When I called the VA office and asked why I was billed when I was retiree, I was informed that the only free care I could get was for those issues directly related to my disabilities, I responded by pointing out that the bill was for the exam that VERIFIED THE DISABILITIES! So the folks at the VA asked me to send them a copy of my disability determination letter, along with the bill and they would “work it out” this was the very same letter that they had just sent me, but they had not thought to retain a copy.

Now I am retired and I have medications that the VA doctors have prescribed for me but that I cannot get through the VA because the VA has determined that the prescribed drugs are too expensive, so I get the generic equivalents. Some work some do not.

Luckily I got on to a civilian Health Insurance plan at work, so now I go to the Doctor and we have a new dance.

I go to civilian doctors who do not accuse me of faking injuries, the civilian coverage pays 80% of all costs and TRICARE pays the rest. Then TRICARE turns around and bills their 20% back to my health insurance, leaving the government paying nothing. Yep that free Veterans Health care that new enlistees are promised is a really Great Deal . . . for the VA.

Oh, yes, when I went to the local TRICARE office and ask them about the reverse billing to my insurance, they said…

“Don’t worry about it, you don’t have to pay out of pocket and when we get the money from your insurance, it goes back to the system to make the VA facilities better.”

When I called the VA National contact phone number and informed them of the reverse billing, even though I pointed out that I had the invoices in my hand, they lied and said “We don’t do that.”

This is government run health care today, if you want single payer, you had better hope for major reforms from the current government standard, if you want any care at all.

[...] She proposed cuts to veteran’s benefits. Maybe that’s her version of healthcare reform. Go troops. American exceptionalism the [...]

As a disabled, retired Navy veteran, I have read these comments with great interest. There appears to be a single point of agreement: Veterans have earned their “free” health care with their service and their health. I am of the same opinion.

There also appears to be a common bone of contention: Politicians with NO idea of what has been experienced by the veterans (i.e., long hours, extended deployments, low pay, sub-standard medical treatment, etc.) are making the assumption that the veterans really don’t NEED this “free” health care.

I have only two things to say. First, I don’t believe that 22 years of strenuous, stressful service and the sacrifice of my health in exchange for the VA health care qualifies the VA health care as “free”. Second, Politicians who wish to put the brunt of the deficit reduction on cutting veterans’ benefits rather than trimming the pork from their own state’s interests do not deserve to be in elected office.

Check your history books. Election to Congress was never intended to be a profession. It was intended to be a civic duty, with adequate compensation for time spent. I really don’t think we are getting $174,000 per year worth of work from ANY politician in Washington, DC.

This is Batshit Crazy Bachmannn’s vision for America’s future. You Ass Clown right wing veterans are aiding and abetting her and the Koch Brothers in their goal of destroying what little is left of America’s Middle Class.