The War Wounded

Whatever your stance on public health care, it must be recognized that a government has a responsibility to those injured in war. Soldiers in such a case are acting for the government, and as such, that government should pay for the care of the soldiers.

An Obama administration plan would renege on that contract. His idea is to charge private insurers for injuries sustained in combat. This is an absolutely heinous decision, one that would try to pass on the cost of war to the private sector. There is something so very disturbingly calculating about this idea. It speaks to a deep rooted lack of respect for the economic system of the United States and for it citizens.

Excerpt from Washington Post article:

An Obama administration proposal to bill veterans' private insurance companies for treatment of combat-related injuries has prompted veterans groups to condemn the idea as unethical and powerful lawmakers on Capitol Hill to promise their opposition.

Nevertheless, the White House confirmed yesterday that the idea remains under consideration, and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and leaders of veterans groups are scheduled to meet tomorrow to discuss it further.

The proposal -- intended to save the Department of Veterans Affairs $530 million a year -- would authorize VA to bill private insurance companies for the treatment of injuries and medical conditions related to military service, such as amputations, post-traumatic stress disorder and other battle wounds. VA already pursues such third-party billing for conditions that are not service-related.

Veterans groups said the change would be an abrogation of the government's responsibility to care for the war wounded. And they expressed concern that the new policy would make employers less willing to hire veterans, for fear of the cost of insuring them, and that insurance benefits for veterans' families would be jeopardized.