Critics raised the specter of military families and survivors of veterans seeing health care costs rise as a result of the national health reform law that President Barack Obama signed March 23.
But the threat was never more than a notion, and it is already fading away. That’s the consensus among most military associations and veterans groups, as reinforced by statements from the secretaries of defense and Veterans Affairs.
White House officials were angered, and some veterans groups perplexed, by press releases issued last Sunday from Republicans on the House Armed Services and Veterans Affairs committees, and by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, hours before the House voted to approve the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010.
The VFW said “the president and the Democratic leadership are betraying veterans” by not adopting a Republican amendment that explicitly would list Tricare and Veterans Affairs survivor health benefits as meeting the health reform bill’s minimum essential coverage standard.
Without that status, argued Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon. R-Calif. on armed services and Rep. Steve Buyer R-Ind., on veterans’ affairs, these beneficiaries and even some veterans’ children with spina bifida could be forced to pay a penalty or buy extra health insurance.
The chances of that occurring were between nil and infinitesimal, supporters claimed. They saw the complaints as a last attempt to derail the health reform bill by angering veterans enough that they would persuade wavering Democrats to vote no.
To calm any such fears, the chairmen of five House committees, including Veterans Affairs Chairman Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., and Armed Services Chairman Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., issued a joint letter reaffirming that the health reform legislation, as written, would protect those receiving care via Tricare or the Department of Veterans Affairs.
In addition, a day before the critical vote, the House unanimously passed a bill offered by Skelton that would amend the tax code so that all Tricare plans met the health reform bill’s minimum essential coverage.
Vietnam Veterans of America praised the House for swift passage of Skelton’s bill and criticized politicians who would play on veterans’ fears.
“It is unfortunate that some continue to raise what now is even more clearly a false alarm that is apparently meant to frighten veterans and their families in order to prompt them to oppose the pending legislation,” said John Rowan, the Vietnam vets national president, in a press release.
But Buyer, in an interview, said Skelton’s bill still isn’t enough. He tried to amend it so it would protect all veterans’ widows and orphans but was rebuffed.
“When political expediency equals sloppy, people get hurt in the process,” Buyer said. “That is exactly what happened when we did the GI Bill. We tried to correct the errors. They wouldn’t do it and they passed the bill. And look at the problems we’ve had. This is political Ground Hog Day.”
Sen. James Webb, D-Va., has introduced a bill identical to Skelton’s. Buyer said that Senate bill, before passage, should be amended to close the gaps that he found for veterans’ families.
VA committee chairman Filner countered that Buyer has relied on a “false interpretation” of health reform legislation and “somehow the VFW bought into it.” His committee, Filner said, watched progress on health reform carefully and was in constant contact with veterans groups.
“We knew from the beginning to make sure we watched everything so no benefits are touched or affected,” he said.
VFW National Commander Thomas Tradewell Sr. said he no longer has serious concerns, even though the House passed health reform without the McKeon-Buyer amendment.
“Our concerns were relieved,” he said. And the VFW isn’t opposed to national health care reform, he explained, though some got that impression.
“We just felt … they pushed it through with a few things that could affect Tricare dependents and some other VA-type coverage.
To comment, send e-mail to milupdate@aol.com or write to Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA, 20120-1111.
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