Signs are on the Wall

A promise made is a debt unpaid
--The Cremation of Sam McGee, Robert Service

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On Ranger's latest visit to the local VA Outpatient Clinic, he noticed a newly-posted sign which read: "Individuals with Tricare will no longer be issued Department of Veterans Affairs ID cards." It seems ominous.

It implies that Service-Connected retired members will be eliminated from the the DVA medical system. If so, then things like our 100% service-Connected benefit of dental care will be another benefit chipped away, and our non co-pay drugs will be a thing of the past.

Tricare does not cover dental care, and a co-pay is required for prescription drugs. I have not seen the fraternal magazine address this issue, yet the signs are on the wall for all to read.

A New York Times Op-Ed recently addressed the issue of uninsured vets ("Veterans Without Health Care.") It cited a new study published in the American Journal of Public Health, estimating nearly 1.8 million veterans uninsured in 2004, with an additional 3.8 million members of their households in the same boat. "(T)his group made up roughly 12 percent of the huge population of uninsured Americans."

"Although many Americans believe that the nation’s veterans have ready access to health care, that is far from the case. A new study by researchers at the Harvard Medical School has found that millions of veterans and their dependents have no access to care in veterans’ hospitals and clinics and no health insurance to pay for care elsewhere. Their plight represents yet another failure of our disjointed health care system to provide coverage for all Americans."

The DVA healthcare system does not provide dependent coverage unless the veteran is 100% service-connected. For veterans rated 0-90% there is no dependent care.

Most of the uninsured are working-class stiffs too poor to afford private insurance, "but not poor enough to qualify for care under a priority system administered by the Veterans Affairs Department. Some were unable to get care because there was no V.A. facility nearby, or the nearest facility had a long waiting list, or they could not afford the co-payments required of some veterans."

The prioritization of services and categories belies the promise of health care for all veterans, and is clearly a disservice to untold servicemen and women who must forgo medical care upon return from their tour of duty. And the situation is worsening:

"Despite a shrinking population of working-age veterans, the number of uninsured veterans increased by 290,000 between 2000 and 2004, propelled by a steady erosion of health care coverage in the workplace and a tightening of enrollment criteria for veterans’ care."

Of course, the criteria for enrollment tightens after the veteran has provided good and faithful service to his country. Understandably, returning combat vets with service-connected disabilities get priority, but due to underfunding, there has been a freeze on enrollments from other categories.

Taking care of WW II, Korean and Vietnam vets is just plain inconvenient in a system which does not budget for keeping promises made to all veterans. It is robbing Peter to pay Paul. The newly returning vets are cared for on the backs of our poor, aging vets who also served honorably.

Bills are pending to end the freeze, allowing possibly a million or more to qualify for V.A. care, at a cost of over $1 billion the first year, and $9 billion over 5 years. In other words, simply honoring the health care promise made to the vets when they signed on.

War fighting comes at a cost, far exceeding the per diem rate. This is why war should always be the last recourse, and not the first, as it was in George W.Bush 's Phony War on Terror (PWOT ©).

The U.S. can come up with $500,000 a minute to fight in Iraq, yet veterans appropriations are always a tendentious affair. If the wars are essential, and the veterans are essential to fighting the wars, then the outcome of the war is essential, i.e., vets needing disability compensation and medical care.

The entire U.S. federal system -- Congress, president, vice president, federal judges --should all be required to use the DVA health care system as a matter of law. That might torque the quagmire that we call the veterans health care system.

Hail America, your colors never run, but your veterans benefit sure do.