Obama backs down on vets insurance billing

[unhappycamper]

Obama backs down on vets insurance billing
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Mar 18, 2009 19:35:13 EDT

The Obama administration waved a white flag of surrender Wednesday, dropping a budget proposal that would have billed private insurance companies for treatment of service-connected medical problems at Veterans Affairs Department hospitals and clinics.

“It was total capitulation,” one participant said at a meeting Wednesday with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in which 11 veterans groups vowed they would fight to the end to kill the proposal.

AmVets Executive Director Jim King said he was glad the White House promised to kill the idea, which was distracting from the good news of the Obama administration’s proposed $4.9 billion increase in the VA budget, and which would have hurt disabled veterans, their families and maybe even employees at the same companies.

Billing private insurance to pay for veterans’ health care would make disabled veterans less desirable employees for companies worried about holding down health care costs, and could have led to veterans and their families paying higher premiums — even raising premiums for everyone working for the same company, King said.

Veterans groups met Monday with President Barack Obama to discuss the controversial proposal, but Obama promised only to look at the issue.


Rest of article at: http://armytimes.com/news/2009/03/military_vetsinsurance_reversal_031809w/%2e

[barbtries]

1. it was a lousy idea

glad it's been ruled out.

[exboyfil]

2. In Universal Single Payer Health Care

should the Vets be rolled into the plan along with everyone else? I would think that they should.

Of course billing private insurers for war related injuries is simply nuts.