RE: http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,149951,00.html

We should ALL oppose this insane attack on our earned-in-blood VA Benefits.

This is but the first step in eliminating disability payments totally, by promising to be "nice" about health care for us Veterans, health care in an over-driven an bankrupt VA Hospital System.

Dole should be ashamed, for even suggesting such a thing.

Bull

We have nothing but unfaltering Respect & Appreciation for what Senator Bob Dole and Ms. Shalala are doing for our Wounded Warriors. They have continued to keep the Quality of Care for these deserving individuals in the forefront of their investigative insight and recommendations! Senator Dole has, and is continuing to Serve this Nation with Loyalty, Reverence and continued commitment to the Soldier! God Bless you for ALL your time, efforts, compassion and care!
Thank You Sir, for being a part of our program to Help bring attention to the Plight of the Veteran and Our Troops. We appreciate your signing our Patriotic Pillow covers to be shared with our most deserving recipients, Our Healing Heroes! All these Amazing Patriots deserve whatever is necessary to provide them with as full and productive a life Modern Medicine and this Great Nation can offer! Our Hats off to you and the committee for your True and Profound recommendations. May our leaders be wise enough to Heed your experienced advise and council.

God Bless Our Troops, Our Veterans, Our World Leaders, & America!

Respectfully,
Christina Finn


"I have learned that in order to bring about change, you must not be
afraid to take the first step. We will fail when we fail to try. Each
and everyone of us can make a difference." Rosa Parks

This message has been edited. Last edited by: PillowLady,

Seems like the WWII and Vietnam Vets have all been forgotten. I'm a combat Veteran with service connected disabilities and even I can't get Tri-care for life until I reach age 65 and my family and I have to pay for our dental, health care, and co-payments. Now all of a sudden an Iraqi Vet with 20% gets everything for his family and himself for free for life.
OK somebody shoot me now please.

quote:

Originally posted by Duster6:
Seems like the WWII and Vietnam Vets have all been forgotten. I'm a combat Veteran with service connected disabilities and even I can't get Tri-care for life until I reach age 65 and my family and I have to pay for our dental, health care, and co-payments. Now all of a sudden an Iraqi Vet with 20% gets everything for his family and himself for free for life.
OK somebody shoot me now please.

You know why don't you.....its called GUILT......

quote:

Originally posted by DCT435:

quote:

Originally posted by Duster6:
Seems like the WWII and Vietnam Vets have all been forgotten. I'm a combat Veteran with service connected disabilities and even I can't get Tri-care for life until I reach age 65 and my family and I have to pay for our dental, health care, and co-payments. Now all of a sudden an Iraqi Vet with 20% gets everything for his family and himself for free for life.
OK somebody shoot me now please.

You know why don't you.....its called GUILT......

That wasnt even called for...This sounds like a good bill, I'm not sure why it only applies to the veterans of the Iraqi wars. But thats where we are. Ive seen disabled Vietnam vets that were (and are) very well taken care of by us and the Gov. A lot of them arent as disabled as...well

So if this passes I am elegible for TRICARE? Or is there a % of disablity that I have to be at? I was a little confused by this article. And if I get the TRICARE do I get to keep my diablility?

This has the 'smack' of political wrangling to me.

There is nothing wrong with a bill which provides healthcare for more American citizens. This is one small step toward needed universal healthcare and I agree with the Bush recommendation.

The wellbeing of citzens is a reason to submit to government. Medicine has made fantastic advances in the past fifty years. With the technical advances costs have mounted to the point that more and more citizens are unable to benefit from this medical expertise.

This is not acceptable in our society where freedom and wellbeing of all citzens is the paramount objective of union. Our founding fathers recognized this unity of purpose and declared it to the world. It has proven to be a challenge far more elusive than war. I do agree with this new Bush move to expand national guarantees of healthcare.

TRi-Care sucks. Screw Bush. WE Vets are WHAT ?? UNFIT???

A bit of caution is probably needed On President Bush's recommendation to provide Lifetime TRICARE Health coverage to wounded and discharged Veterans. First off, TRICARE reimbursement is tied to Medicare reimbursement rates. Finding a Health care provider that accepts TRICARE reimbursement rates is becoming extremely difficult. For those who live in rural areas of the country, finding Health Care Providers is becoming especially difficult if not impossible, without travelling excessive distances. Presently, TRICARE has three levels of coverage...TRICARE Standard, TRICARE Prime, and TRICARE for Life. Which level of TRICARE support is the President recommending? The Bush Administration and the Pentagon have been advocating and pushing hard over the past several years for significant cuts in TRICARE. They don't care about the Health Coverage...They are concerned solely with the escalating costs. The folks that brought you the Walter Reed Army Hospital Daytime Soap Opera are the same ones that oversee the TRICARE Program, with a little help from Government Contractors! This proposal may well be one of those: Be Careful What You Ask For...You Might Get It!

quote:

We have nothing but unfaltering Respect & Appreciation for what Senator Bob Dole and Ms. Shalala are doing for our Wounded Warriors.

We ALL respect these two people, but I would like to know WHAT they have done so far, except make recommendations?

I think Dole is a good man and a man with our Veteran's health care as his primary goal here, same with Shalala. But they have not "done" anything except make recommendations, many of which may end up on the cutting room floor, so to speak.

"What about my disability"; "What about Tricare after age 65" and other important questions people have asked in this forum? These are NOT being addressed in the article because this is a "trial balloon" article, to see how we all react, and because those things are going to be CUT.

I would ask that you all check this out thoroughly, and wait to see what other "initiatives" come from this White House (based on whatever reports or commissions) before we bless the people who claim this is in our best interests. Time has proven that we Veterans are handed the wrong end of the $hitty Stick on these matters.

I don't want this prez. making ANY recommendations on OUR Health Care, OR The VA, frankly.

quote:

The wellbeing of citzens is a reason to submit to government.

What ?

I am sorry, but I don't get that one.

quote:

Originally posted by rhanley:
So if this passes I am elegible for TRICARE? Or is there a % of disablity that I have to be at? I was a little confused by this article. And if I get the TRICARE do I get to keep my diablility?

This has the 'smack' of political wrangling to me.

See... we DO agree on some things.

THE PRESIDENT AND HIS "CREW" WANTED TO ALMOST DOUBLE OUR TRICARE PAYMENTS EARLIER THIS YEAR, NOW HE'S IN A GIVEAWAY PROGRAM. IT SOUNDS LIKE A SENSIBLE PROGRAM. I JUST HOPE THAT IT DOESN'T COME OUT OF THE RETIREES POCKETS. IF YOU READ THE ARTICLE, THEY DON'T KNOW WHERE THE MONEY WILL COME FROM. REMEMBER WHEN THEY PUT THE SCREWS TO RETIREES BY MAKING THEM PAY FOR SOMETHING THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FREE FOR LIFE?

TRICARE for non-medically retired personnel should only be for combat related injuries. The TRICARE system will be ruined by all the people who got a hang-nail while serving as a disc jockey in the Azores using up scarce resources just like they did to the VA system. Why should a person who was hurt during a motorcycle crash while drunk get the same benefits as a combat veteran who suffered a major trauma from an IED, bullet, or shrapnel? It is a no-brainer, limit TRICARE Benefits to those who were declared medically unfit due to COMBAT injuries, but did not get medical retirement as a result. They deserve it.

quote:

Originally posted by 13561129:
THE PRESIDENT AND HIS "CREW" WANTED TO ALMOST DOUBLE OUR TRICARE PAYMENTS EARLIER THIS YEAR, NOW HE'S IN A GIVEAWAY PROGRAM. IT SOUNDS LIKE A SENSIBLE PROGRAM. I JUST HOPE THAT IT DOESN'T COME OUT OF THE RETIREES POCKETS. IF YOU READ THE ARTICLE, THEY DON'T KNOW WHERE THE MONEY WILL COME FROM. REMEMBER WHEN THEY PUT THE SCREWS TO RETIREES BY MAKING THEM PAY FOR SOMETHING THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FREE FOR LIFE?

You bring up a very good point. Used to be that a military veteran raised his right hand and took an oath to defend this great country. In return for that oath the federal government promised if the Veteran served 20 years or more of active duty he and his wife would have free medical and dental for the rest of their lives. Over the years that same Veteran who served his or her 20 years now has to pay for that care. Sometimes waiting months for an appointment. Now they are saying that all military except those retired get free care for life. So let me see if I have this right. A Veteran with 30 years service is paying for Tri-care Prime currently. A Veteran who has been injured by slipping on a bar of soap on board a ship at sea and is discharged with 20% disability gets his and his wife's care free. OK seems fair to me. Right. Looks like Bush is ready for the nut house.

I believe that this directional change with Tricare is good and that vets discharged after 2001 with disabilities should get this medical benefit. There are physical/mental screenings, web data bases & paperless work, and clinic expansions that Tricare has the capacity to handle the volume of vets discharged after 2001.

This plan has its risks but look at the positive external environmental indicators on the economy."Good for them" attitude from JP public who looks at the government taking care of its veterans. It raises their awareness. Private medical membership is tough enough why not give these vets this offering too? This is a different generation of vets. They are on profile and are a heavy influence in their communities.

People are never going to be satisfied but this target segmentation needs to be handled favorably for a positive posture on a national scale.

I agree that a certain amount of caution is advisable. There have been too many government programs that looked like solutions to problems that in the long run turned out to be only eye wash. But at the same time, it would be folly to dismiss this proposal out of hand because it rocks the boat.

We may not have gotten all we deserved, but that's no reason to begrudge it to others. "If we don't hang together we'll all hang separately."

At least, for the moment, Congress and the Administration are paying attention. That's an improvement and long over due.

We can definately see our annual fees for TriCare Prime at least triple if this occurs. Bush will not use tax $$$'s, he'll just raise the service related fees of those of us in Tricare at this time. In a couple of years I'll be using TriCare for Life -- finding out that my TriCare clinics will not see me anymore - have to go to a medical facility to get care.

After reading the article, and all the comments posted the only only thing I can think, of to say,
is what the Commander of the 101st in Bestone, Germany, reply to the German 's were when they were surrounded and asked to surrender"NUTS"