See below for latest updates.

Thanks to Lars Larson for carrying this on his show tonight.  And wecome folks from Sister Toldjah.

I reported this last week as a plan presented by the Sec of Veterans Affairs, but at the time it did not seem to have Obama’s approval.  Today, the Commander of The American Legion suggests that it is, and that it seems to be moving forward:

The American Legion Strongly Opposed to President’s Plan to Charge Wounded Heroes for Treatment

The leader of the nation’s largest veterans organization says he is “deeply disappointed and concerned” after a meeting with President Obama today to discuss a proposal to force private insurance companies to pay for the treatment of military veterans who have suffered service-connected disabilities and injuries. The Obama administration recently revealed a plan to require private insurance carriers to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in such cases.

“It became apparent during our discussion today that the President intends to move forward with this unreasonable plan,” said Commander David K. Rehbein of The American Legion. “He says he is looking to generate $540-million by this method, but refused to hear arguments about the moral and government-avowed obligations that would be compromised by it.”

The Commander, clearly angered as he emerged from the session said, “This reimbursement plan would be inconsistent with the mandate ‘ to care for him who shall have borne the battle’ given that the United States government sent members of the armed forces into harm’s way, and not private insurance companies. I say again that The American Legion does not and will not support any plan that seeks to bill a veteran for treatment of a service connected disability at the very agency that was created to treat the unique need of America’s veterans!”

Commander Rehbein was among a group of senior officials from veterans service organizations joining the President, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki and Steven Kosiak, the overseer of defense spending at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The group’s early afternoon conversation at The White House was precipitated by a letter of protest presented to the President earlier this month. The letter, co-signed by Commander Rehbein and the heads of ten colleague organizations, read, in part, ” There is simply no logical explanation for billing a veteran’s personal insurance for care that the VA has a responsibility to provide. While we understand the fiscal difficulties this country faces right now, placing the burden of those fiscal problems on the men and women who have already sacrificed a great deal for this country is unconscionable.”

Commander Rehbein reiterated points made last week in testimony to both House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees. It was stated then that The American Legion believes that the reimbursement plan would be inconsistent with the mandate that VA treat service-connected injuries and disabilities given that the United States government sends members of the armed forces into harm’s way, and not private insurance companies. The proposed requirement for these companies to reimburse the VA would not only be unfair, says the Legion, but would have an adverse impact on service-connected disabled veterans and their families. The Legion argues that, depending on the severity of the medical conditions involved, maximum insurance coverage limits could be reached through treatment of the veteran’s condition alone. That would leave the rest of the family without health care benefits. The Legion also points out that many health insurance companies require deductibles to be paid before any benefits are covered. Additionally, the Legion is concerned that private insurance premiums would be elevated to cover service-connected disabled veterans and their families, especially if the veterans are self-employed or employed in small businesses unable to negotiate more favorable across-the-board insurance policy pricing. The American Legion also believes that some employers, especially small businesses, would be reluctant to hire veterans with service-connected disabilities due to the negative impact their employment might have on obtaining and financing company health care benefits.

“I got the distinct impression that the only hope of this plan not being enacted,” said Commander Rehbein, “is for an alternative plan to be developed that would generate the desired $540-million in revenue. The American Legion has long advocated for Medicare reimbursement to VA for the treatment of veterans. This, we believe, would more easily meet the President’s financial goal. We will present that idea in an anticipated conference call with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel in the near future.

“I only hope the administration will really listen to us then. This matter has far more serious ramifications than the President is imagining,” concluded the Commander.

This is outrageous.   In fact it is so outrageous that even Sen Patty Murray (D WA) has said it is dead on arrival.

She is hardly my favorite and her actions and comments have really irritated me over the years.  But as Liberal and wacko as she is, even she sees this as a bad thing.

That bodes very ill for Obama. 

As I said last week, this may just be the absolute worst decision he can make.  This is an utter and complete betrayal of our wounded heroes.

They would trade our integrity and our promise to the Nation’s military for $540 million in revenue.

Update: Fox News is reporting this little slap in the face:

 Roberts said that 11 veterans service organizations were told to come up with another plan if they didn’t like this one. The groups met on Monday with Obama, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki and Office of Management and Budget defense spending chief Steven Kosiak.

“What we’ve been tasked with now is to raise this money through alternative means and we’re supposed to have a conference call in two or three days … with Rahm Emanuel. So the implication was … you guys come up with a better idea or this is what’s going to happen,” Roberts said.

This is the Obama plan?  Suggest the absurd and then make someone else figure out how to make it work or come up with a better idea.

Leadership we can believe in….

More updates: 

HuffPo weighs in,  as does the Washington Post, both noting that the democrats are lining up to stop this.

This editorial puts the problem in perspective:

Based on the comments of Senators at last week’s hearings, there appears to be little chance that the Administration will be successful in implementing the change in the way veterans are billed for their care. But the fact that the Administration stood by the idea in its meeting with veterans groups is troubling. It indicates a callous disregard for the nations’s responsibility to care for its wounded service members, in stark contrast to President Obama’s campaign rhetoric in which he pledged to “restore America’s sacred trust with our veterans,” by “fully funding” the VA. Ultimately, the idea will likely be scrapped quietly. The damage it has done to the Obama Admninistration’s relationship with veterans groups, however, could be more permanent.

One complaint has been that the Vets could be denied care by private insurance as having preexisting conditions.  Not a problem apparrently.

And the most damaging, this video surfaced at Hot Air.  Watch Obama articulate his belief in a “sacred trust”….

“No more shortfalls, we’ll fully fund VA health care….” 

Uh huh….sorry Vets, but that promise expired when the campaign ended.

Trackposted to ST,  STA, Jules Crittenden, PW, DS, Meme, ST, HA, Say Anything, Nuke’s, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, third world county, Woman Honor Thyself, Walls of the City, The World According to Carl, Colorado Sports Desk, The Pink Flamingo, Democrat=Socialist, and Conservative Cat, Beach Girl, Seymour, Undernews, Gina Cobb, Pronk, Infidel Bloggers, Aphiemi, Navy Vets, Osmoothie, ACD  thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.