An Obama administration proposal to bill veterans' private insurance companies for treatment of combat-related injuries

An Obama administration proposal to bill veterans' private insurance companies for treatment of combat-related injuries has prompted veterans groups to condemn the idea as unethical plus powerful lawmakers on Capitol Hill to promise their opposition.

Nevertheless, the White House confirmed yesterday that the idea remains under consideration, plus Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel plus leaders of veterans groups are scheduled to meet tomorrow to discuss it further.

Veterans groups said the adapt would be an abrogation of the government's responsibility to care for the war wounded. plus they expressed concern that the new policyowner would make employers less willing to hire veterans, for fear of the cost of insuring them, plus that insurance benefits for veterans' families would be jeopardized.
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The proposal -- intended to save the Department of Veterans Affairs $530 million a year -- would authorize VA to bill private insurance companies for the treatment of injuries plus medical conditions related to military service, such as amputations, post-traumatic stress disorder plus other battle wounds. VA already pursues such third-party billing for conditions that are not service-related.

The chairman of the Senate panel, Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii), said a majority of the committee members say the plan is fundamentally unfair.

Lawmakers explicitly ruled out the proposal yesterday in budget recommendations from the Senate plus House veterans' affairs committees.

"America's veterans plus their families pay the true cost of war everyday, plus they must pay for the care plus benefits they have earned. I look forward to working with my colleagues plus the Administration to pass a budget worthy of their service," Akaka said in a statement.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), a senior member of the Veterans' Affairs plus Budget committees, warned VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki last week that the idea would be "dead on arrival," plus he vowed yesterday that any budget containing the provision "is not going to pass."

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said yesterday that the Obama administration has not made "the final . . . decision on third-party billing as it relates to service-related injuries."

"The VA has an obligation to pay for service-related care, plus they should not be nickel-and-diming vets in the scheme," he said in an interview. "This proposal means that relatives members will be hurt because, if a vet meets the maximum [benefit amount] for their insurance, their wife plus children would not be able to get insurance [benefits] anymore. . . . God forbid a wounded vet from Iraq has a wife who gets breast cancer."

VA plus the Office of Management plus Budget did not respond to requests for more details on the proposal.


At the same time, Gibbs noted that the administration is seeking an 11 percent increase in discretionary spending in the VA budget, a decision lawmakers plus veterans groups have praised. "This president takes seriously the needs of our wounded warriors that have given so much to protect our freedom on battlefields throughout the world," Gibbs said at a White House news conference.