We do owe our veterans more. A promise was made to them when they signed on and a way must be found to honor that promise.

CY, thanks for illuminating a problem that receives very little press or attention. It affects few, so it doesn't receive widespread coverage. It does however, affect those who answered the call and served their nation in times of need. It also illuminates the response of our government toward those same few. The title you selected is right on; Thank you, now go away.

The whole issue of veterans health care is one big joke. I have billed Tricare in the past and I can assure you they do not pay a thing. Yet the cost of the insurance keeps going up. I don't know how this could be as the amount they pay out is a small fraction of what they owe. The billing process is bizzare, they will loose the records as least three times before they process the claim. If you look at the VA system, it is horrible and is one of the least cost effective health delivery systems that I have ever seen. The veterans themselves add to the problem as the majority do absolutely nothing to improve their health. If you took all the money poored into these projects and gave each veteran a voucher to purchase his own insurance you would likely have a considerable amount of money left over.

My experience with the VA has been mostly very favorable. My high blood pressure problem, for example, was treated far more aggressively (and successfully) than by my "civilian" practitioners.

Virtually every report I've read in recent years is that starting sometime in the Clinton administration era, the VA has become one of the best and most cost effective medical care providers in the USA.

Sadly, the Bush administration has been trying to raise the co-payment costs for us veterans and to under-fund an agency that will have major increases in responsibilities following the 20,000 (and growing) casualties from the Iraq War.

Tricare has been a disaster. I was in the Clinton-era Army when it was unleashed on us and remember a 'lifer' sergeant and good friend who actually took the time to inform himself about it and determined that it was time to leave. Health care was one of his major reasons for being there and with that awful coverage, it was no longer worth it. Mr President, fix this NOW!

Why single out veterans? Is not every American entitled to decent, affordable health care? I agree that veterans have done a very good job defending this country. However, the rest of us have done a very good job keeping this country going. We should get away from this attitude that one group is more deserving than another.

Here you see the result of the application over several years, of the bedrock philosophy of the modern Republican Party.

What is that philosophy?

It's simple! To a modern Republican...., money is vastly more important than people!

That's been their guiding philsophy and their basis for all decisions and actions, public and private.

People are unimportant! Money and whatever you have to do to accumulate as much of it as possible, at whatever cost to the population and environment, is all that matters!

I think nyrunner's comments above show a major disconnect with people's thinking about the military. Does she/he really think that the military veteran is no more deserving of attention by the Federal govt over health care than the average citizen? Does he think that the effort of doing a "very good job of keeping this country going" in a safe, peaceful environment is the equivalent of risking your life to provide that environment? I hope not.

I must comment on David Caskey's uninformed comments about Tricare and the VA. Tricare is like any other health care provider, in that they sign up DR's who agree to the payment plan. If you go to a Tricare DR there is no extra charge to the veteran, the Dr gets what Tricare pays. If you go out of the system Tricare pays the contracted fee and since last year also any charges above the contracted fee.I've had Tricare for the last six years and have had no problems. As for the VA, understand that they classify veterans two ways, service connected injury, an injury incurred while on active duty doing your job. The other classifaction is non service connected injury. This means you were injured while not on active duty and not at your job.For example being injured in a car accident after being discharged. Both can receive VA health care but the non service connected veteran must pay the VA a certain percentage based on rank and ability to pay.In addition the VA has the best prices for drugs because they buy in bulk they negotiate with the drug companies to get the lowest price possible unlike the new Medicare plan.

Bruce,

How long have you been teaching 10th grade world geography, anyway?

when the current neo-cons took over, they began a WAR ON VETS by cutting $50 BILLION a year, for 10 years, from the VA healthcare system [this was part of the monies "given back" to the wealthy campaign contributors]... it has resulted in SEVERE personnel cutbacks at ALL the VA facilities, including essential support staffing from the initial in-processing right down to patient-care cycles; attitudes have degraded to the state of the 80's [under Reagan's 'trickle-down' policies], where staffers seem to show up for paychecks with that glazed-over look in their eyes... keep in mind that private industry companies have their deficiencies, too - they just get to correct them on a sooner time-frame than does government agencies [by their very nature run by political cronism NOW, vs the career bureaucrats of long-standing history - OVERSIGHT cures a lot of these ills in both sectors].
But, if you consider the Desert Storm vets who have been irradiated & forgotten, added to the current crop of maimed & disfigured victims of this current atrocity, you've got an entire population group who are being put in a long waiting line of pain, mistreatment, and destined for oblivion... these vets will try to go out into the private sector to find jobs, only to find that their "previous conditions" of service-connected ailments will probably NOT be covered under the NEWT-Congressional HMO plans that we now have in this country....
when will the citizens of this country realize that there are many things that SHOULD be treated as PUBLIC utilities???
this includes water, energy, food, healthcare, communications, transportation, etc., and that maybe - just MAYBE - private companies & government SHOULD compete with each other to provide those very essential services....

That's one thing you'll get only 100% agreement from me on. If you want to read more about how we're failing to take care of our troops, read more here:

http://threewisemen.blogspot.com/2006/03/story-of-soldier-and-ptsd.html

http://threewisemen.blogspot.com/2006/03/cutting-back-on-treatment-for-ptsd.html

http://threewisemen.blogspot.com/2005/12/cost-of-ptsd.html

Also check out this month's Texas Monthly for some great articles about Texas soldiers.

nyrunner, get a clue. If you want health care, YOU go earn it. American veterans already have.

One of the things I really am amazed at is the way that people respond to a post. Earlier I commented on Tricare and some poor sole tells me I am uninformed. Pardon!! You sound like a patient. As such you have no idea about the inner workings of an insurance company. I have delt with Tricare for somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 years and it is one of the worst in dealing with its physicians. The only reason that I signed with them initially is that several of my patients had the insurance forced on them. Now several things happen when doctors are not happy with the insurance company. Many will not take the coverage. These usually are your better physicians. The other catagory are those that are not very good docs and this is the only income they can compete with. Either way a doc will look at the company and tailor his care knowing the problems he has previously encountered. Now you will say something stupid as well your took the sorry insurance and I respond yes but I was trying to do something for some people I liked. Then you will say that is very dollar oriented thinking but then you have to understand that we all modify our activity to the almighty dollar and if we are honest with ourselves then we will recognize this human fault. The veterns signed on to their job and part of that signing process guarnteed lifetime health care, just as those who work for GM (until GM goes broke). As to national health insurance, I used to fight this issue when I was young, now I really don't care. Physicians are getting paid so bad in most cases that the government couldn't get much worse. Now before you say you don't know any docs not getting paid well understand that your local banker will tell you that all those apparently rich physicians are a hairs breath from being broke. Check your facts before you dispute this. A good example of national health care is Canada. There it takes 6 months or more to get a CT scan in which you are concerned that a cancer is present. Your pet can get a scan in 24 hours using the same machine. The difference is that the government factors in the fact you will likely die in the interm and they do not have to spring for the cost. The Canadians love the system because they can go to the US and get care and the system picks up the cost. My friends in Britian love their system. But when they really want something done they come here. Regardless, our system is dying and what you know of as medicine in the US will soon be gone.

Tenth grade geography..., no! But....,I did spend a couple of years in a very green and humid Asian country...., almost fourty years ago...., learning a littel geography as well as geopolitics...., and finding out how badly America can treat it's military!

Fortunately my wounds healed fairly well and now add only a little to the pain of aging, but many of my freinds did not fare as well. I've seen first-hand the problems caused by lying Republican presidents and their sycophants and enablers!

Vietnam was not entirely caused by Republicans...., but Nixon was the worst of the bunch. And...., he was, by far, the worst president we've ever had the misfortune to experience...., until Bush The Younger!

This lying miscreant, backed by the arrogant and evil twins, Rumsfield and Cheney...., have been a total and complete disaster for this country!

Perhaps if you'd had the opportunity to experience actual combat, you might not be so willing to play the fool for this (mis)administration.

Bruce: Hate to tell you, but Nixon got you OUT of Vietnam. In fact, his "exit strategy" bears a remarkable resembalance to Murtha's: declare victory, then run like hell while abandoning the people who trusted you to grisly fates.
Vietnam was started by Kennedy, and advanced by Johnson.
You just lost all credibility.

Until people learn the difference between Tricare and the VA's health care system we're not going to get anywhere on this specific issue except to perpetuate confusion.

All military retirees are veterans but only a small percentage of veterans are military retirees as well. It's military retirees that are threatened with draconian increases in Tricare premiums and other costs, not veterans in general.

It's a shame that an important discussion on veteran's health care could get so easily off track with the usual lefty tripe.

This is an important issue and it needs to be addressed with as little of the chronic liberal partisan palaver as possible.