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| American Legion Commander Angered after Meeting with The One |
| 2009-03-17 |
| 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. |
| Posted by:Sherry |
| #8 He says he is looking to generate $540-million by this method He's still 360 million short. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-03-17 20:05 |
| #7 US Army Core Values: Loyalty: The faithful adherence to a person, unit or Army. It is the thread that binds our actions together and causes us to support each other, our superiors, our family and our country. Duty: The legal or moral obligation to accomplish all assigned or implied tasks to the fullest of your ability. Respect: Treating others with consideration and honor. It is the ability to accept and value other individuals. Selfless Service: Placing your duty before your personal desires. It is the ability to endure hardships and insurmountable odds because of love of fellow Soldiers and our country. Honor: Living up to the Army Values. It starts with being honest with oneself and being truthful and sincere in all our actions. Integrity: To firmly adhere to a code of moral and ethical principles. Every Soldier must possess high personal moral standards and be honest in word and deed. Personal Courage: Physical courage is overcoming fears of bodily harm while performing your duty. Moral courage is overcoming fears of other than bodily hard while doing what is right, even if unpopular. Any further questions concerning Barry and his obvious distate for the military? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-03-17 13:29 |
| #6 For Obama's Islamo-Marxist plans to succeed, he must: destroy, then control the military destroy, then control health care, medicine destroy, then control major industries destroy, then control finance destroy, then control private property (including valuation/savings) destroy, then control education destroy, then control local law enforcement destroy, then control food sourcing Guess he's getting started on the military front now . . . |
| Posted by: ex-lib 2009-03-17 12:22 |
| #5 The Leftists always have hated our military, so this should be no surprise. They only appaer supportive when it is for political purposes. There is still that lingering question about Obama - is he a radical leftist or is he a regular liberal dem. He sounded moderate, and many folks latched onto it. But it is beginning to look like those disavowed radical leftist roots reveal the real O. |
| Posted by: Hank 2009-03-17 11:56 |
| #4 Even the Clintons didn't dare try something like this to the Veterans - and they hated the military. In short Bambis is taking money from the Veterans and giving it to Hamas/Gaza. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2009-03-17 11:49 |
| #3 Either way, Obama is pissing on the service vets have rendered to this country. I still see a possibility of a revolution happening under his watch. We'll see what the 2010 elections bring. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2009-03-17 11:42 |
| #2 Someone else had a different take on it. Aside from all the unintended consequences, the easily forseeable effects would be. -Demoralizing the Military/ making it less appealing -Breaking private healthcare insurance -Crippling healthcare in general... or at least put the industry in a situation where it needs to be "bailed out" |
| Posted by: Anon4021 2009-03-17 10:53 |
| #1 "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." I've been following this on some milblogs. Can Obama really be this stupid??? The arrogance of this fellow is incredible. 1. It's a horrid and reprehensible idea. If your goal is saving money, maybe we shouldn't help rebuild Gaza. 2. It's almost guaranteed political suicide. Aside from social security, this is most surely, THAT WHICH MUST NEVER BE TOUCHED. The administration can't be seriously thinking that this plan will succeed. |
| Posted by: Anon4021 2009-03-17 10:50 |