Please tell me this is a joke. Anyone have more info on this?

[GarbagemanLB]

(CNN) -- Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki confirmed Tuesday that the Obama administration is considering a controversial plan to make veterans pay for treatment of service-related injuries with private insurance.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/10/veterans.health.insurance/index.html

[Cant trust em]

1. Strange since the budget includes 1.3B more than vets groups even asked for.

[snowbear]

2. Kudos to Senator Murray for saying it would be "Dead on Arrival"

.
.

But it's odd that General Shinseki would even consider such a thing..

[NavyDavy]

3. more repuke scare tactics

[Louis-Emmanuel]

4. I have seen no details

So I will not take a position yet until I Know the details.

[kristopher]

5. Is that automatically a bad thing?

IF such a policy were to be implemented under the present structure for providing medical care in the US it would be horrible, I agree. However, I can see where a lot of money could be saved in administrative costs by such a move. So, if it were part of a move to universal coverage where the aim was to streamline and broaden access to medical care for vets generally and IF arrangements were made to cover the normal out of pocket expenses associated with private insurance, then it might (stress on might) actually be a rational change.

[MercutioATC]

6. Bad idea, but probably not as bad as the wording makes it sound.

If you're injured in a car accident, your auto insurance pays the medical bills. This would be akin to making your medical insurance pay the bills first with your auto insurance covering what the medical insurance didn't.

I believe they're just trying to shift first payer status to private insurance.

Like I said, bad idea...but it's not like this legislation would make veterans pay for their own care.

[hileeopnyn8d]

7. I watched the whole thing on C-Span

He did not confirm any such thing.

[hileeopnyn8d]

8. Here's an earlier thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=259x25612

[camera obscura]

9. After the fight for the GI Bill I thought vets' rights had a higher profile... maybe not.

I hope that Obama reconsiders this plan.

[jbnow]

10. That would be making private insurance primary? Doubt

many states allow that. Like by law auto injuries have to be billed first to auto insurance in most states and medicare can't be primary payer for that I am pretty sure health insurance mike exclude being injured fighting a war.

That would be stupid on so many levels. Surely many of them have some kind of limit on pay outs in insurance to bring insurance costs so that could hurt them later or their family.

The next is...good way to spike health insurance costs.

Just stupid and sounds like a story because of those things.
Otherwise it doesn't matter how much extra they budgeted, it is not enough and I can see why they'd look at all the sources they could. They want vets to be able to get medical care closer to where they are, no more 2 hour drives. No moere waits for counseling and they want to screen all who return.

The big cost is getting proper treatment for the huge injury of this war...closed head injuries. There are clear cases of TBI and they need intensive and long term support and therapy to improve to the degree they can.
But with concussive injuries there are so many cases that are less clear, only those close might know there is something wrong on casual observation...but even "mild" brain injury can impact the chance of living a normal life and they can be helped with treatment too.
It's expensive.
Then post traumatic stress...good Lord, we have set them up for that and that can't be ignored either...
and they can't be put on waiting lists

To give them the support they deserve is HUGE money.

But I still doubt this.