Congress Wants to Dump Veterans Healthcare?

Remind Congress Veterans Are Not Civilians
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
January 7, 2017

When members of Congress complain about the VA, it is like a bank robber complaining there wasn't enough money to make it worth his effort.

Veterans are not civilians. They paid the price for the best care designed to honor that service. They deserve better than to have what they were promised sold off to the highest donors of campaigns.

The day started off with an email from Matt Gaetz, which is odd considering I am not in his district. Anyway, this is what I'm talking about.

Apparently Gaetz does not allow the fact that members of Congress, just like him, have been responsible for the way our veterans have been failed since 1946. That is when the House of Representatives was given jurisdiction over the same system they complain about all these years later. Yep, guess they forget to mention that simple fact when they defend their decision to kill the VA.

Military
SERVING THOSE THAT SERVE US

Northwest Florida is privileged to have bases such as Eglin AFB and Pensacola NAS, and we owe our freedom to the brave men and women that serve there. Matt successfully sponsored legislation protecting the identities of service members and their families from groups like ISIS who have published their information to create “hit lists” of military personnel. He also co-sponsored the Florida GI Bill, offering veterans hiring preferences and in-state college tuition.

Matt has obtained over $3 Million to fund “Building Homes for Heroes,” a program that provides housing for wounded veterans and modifies their homes to meet their needs. While serving on the Florida Defense Support Task Force, Matt fought to secure funding for world-class care to help re-habilitate wounded warriors so that they can continue to fight for our country.

When it comes to caring for our veterans Matt believes that the VA doesn’t just need to be reformed – it needs to be abolished and replaced with a veteran-led system that allows our heroes to bypass bureaucracy and get their care from the providers they choose.

The other thing he apparently does not know is that 80% of our veterans, do in fact, get most of their healthcare from private providers. Only 20% use the VA exclusively. 

While about 40 percent of veterans get some health care from the VA, only about 20 percent of all veterans rely totally on the VA, according to a 2015 government survey of health and health care use.

But why would I know any of this? I've only been watching in since I was in elementary school when my Dad was fighting for his benefits. Then I got to see what happened in the 90's when I finally got my husband to go to the VA. If you've been paying attention for four decades, it is downright pathetic that no one in Congress ever took responsibility for the outcome of their failures.

Ok, now this is from the VA.

Priority GroupsPriority Group 1

• Veterans with VA-rated service-connected disabilities 50% or more disabling.

• Veterans determined by VA to be unemployable due to service-connected conditions.

Priority Group 2

• Veterans with VA-rated service-connected disabilities 30% or 40% disabling.

Priority Group 3

• Veterans who are Former Prisoners of War (POWs).

• Veterans awarded a Purple Heart medal.

• Veterans whose discharge was for a disability that was incurred or aggravated in the line of duty.

• Veterans with VA-rated service-connected disabilities 10% or 20% disabling.

• Veterans awarded special eligibility classification under Title 38, U.S.C., § 1151, “benefits for individuals disabled by treatment or vocational rehabilitation”.

• Veterans awarded the Medal Of Honor (MOH).

Priority Group 4

• Veterans who are receiving aid and attendance or housebound benefits from VA.

• Veterans who have been determined by VA to be catastrophically disabled.

Priority Group 5

• Nonservice-connected Veterans and noncompensable service-connected Veterans rated 0% disabled by VA with annual income and/or net worth below the VA national income threshold and geographically-adjusted income threshold for their resident location.

• Veterans receiving VA pension benefits.

• Veterans eligible for Medicaid programs.

Priority Group 6

• Compensable 0% service-connected Veterans.

• Veterans exposed to ionizing radiation during atmospheric testing or during the occupation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

• Project 112/SHAD participants.

• Veterans of the Mexican border period or of World War I

• Veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975

• Veterans of the Persian Gulf War who served between August 2, 1990, and November 11, 1998

• Veterans who served on active duty at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987*

• Veterans who served in a theater of combat operations after November 11, 1998 as follows:

• Currently enrolled Veterans and new enrollees who were discharged from active duty on or after January 28, 2003, are eligible for the enhanced benefits for five years post discharge.

Note: At the end of this enhanced enrollment priority group placement time period, Veterans will be assigned to the highest Priority Group (PG) their eligibility status at that time qualifies for.*While eligible for PG 6; until system changes are implemented Veterans are assigned to PG 7 or 8 depending on their household income.** While eligible for PG 6; due to system limitations, Veterans will be manually assigned to Priority Group 8c, yet eligible for the enhance benefits.Priority Group 7

• Veterans with gross household income below the geographically-adjusted VA income limit for their resident location, and who agree to pay copays.

Priority Group 8

• Veterans with gross household incomes above the VA income limits and the geographically- adjusted income limits for their resident location, and who agree to pay copays.

Veterans eligible for enrollment: Noncompensable 0% service-connected and:

• Subpriority a: Enrolled as of January 16, 2003, and who have remained enrolled since that date and/or placed in this subpriority due to changed eligibility status.

• Subpriority b: Enrolled on or after June 15, 2009 whose income exceeds the current VA National Income Thresholds or VA National Geographic Income Thresholds by 10% or less.

Veterans eligible for enrollment: Nonservice-connected and:

• Subpriority c: Enrolled as of January 16, 2003, and who have remained enrolled since that date and/or placed in this subpriority due to changed eligibility status.

• Subpriority d: Enrolled on or after June 15, 2009 whose income exceeds the current VA National Income Thresholds or VA National Geographic Income Thresholds by 10% or less.

Veterans not eligible for enrollment: Veterans not meeting the criteria above:

• Subpriority e: Noncompensable 0% service-connected (eligible for care of their service-connected condition only).

• Subpriority g: Nonservice-connected.

There are rules for veterans to go to the VA but there doesn't seem to be rules for members of Congress to make sure they actually do their jobs as employees of the taxpayers of this nation. Businesses close down with yahoos like this not doing their jobs. The only difference is, business actually require employees to train for the jobs they are given. We seem to select them and give them a pass when they neglect to make sure stuff works for the country. In this case, the neglect has been catastrophic for our veterans after they risked their very lives to protect the rest of us.

Veterans are not civilians. They paid the price for the best care designed to honor that service. They deserve better than to have what they were promised sold off to the highest donors of campaigns.

As a last thought, remember, these folks are the same ones complaining about the Affordable Care Act, but they want veterans treated by the same system. WTF?