Time to start rationing veterans’ healthcare?
It seems hard to imagine a presidential candidate, running in the midst of two wars, openly speculate about cutting back on veterans’ healthcare. And yet, here we are.
Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain appeared Tuesday to suggest rationing of veterans’ health care may be needed so combat veterans can receive the care they deserve.
At a town hall meeting in Dover, N.H., McCain talked about the need to “concentrate” veterans’ health care on people with injuries that “are a direct result of combat.”
“Right now, there are people who drive a long way and they stand in line to stand in line to get an appointment to get an appointment,” McCain said.
McCain’s campaign press office did not return a telephone call asking for clarification of the remarks.
Well, that’s not good at all.
The Washington Monthly ran a terrific cover story a couple of years ago, heralding the success of the VA system, and the quality of the medical care veterans receive. McCain may hold some kind of ideological grudge against the VA system — it is, after all, a form of socialized medicine — but even raising the prospect of rationing veterans’ health care seems like a remarkably bad idea. It’s not good policy, and it’s certainly not good politics.
Time’s Ana Marie Cox noted, “A year ago, it would have been difficult to believe that Obama could legitimately make McCain look bad on veterans’ issues. Then again, he’s had some help [from McCain].”
I think that probably sounds more draconian than it actually is; both campaigns acknowledge that there are massive problems with VA and in veterans’ care. And, having heard McCain speak passionately about the need to increase coverage for veterans’ mental health, it’s strange to hear him use the “direct result of combat” formulation. There are, unfortunately, a thousand different ways a soldier could come out of the military with PTSD; which ones would get priority under McCain’s formulation? Does having been shot at make you and more or less worth treating than, I don’t know, having been sexually traumatized?
What’s more, it offers us an opportunity to consider McCain’s record of veterans’ issues in a broader context.
[McCain] received a grade of D from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and a 20 percent vote rating from the Disabled Veterans of America; Vietnam Veterans of America noted McCain had “voted against us” in 15 “key votes.”
As for the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars — with whom McCain claims to have a “perfect voting record” — both groups vigorously supported Sen. Jim Webb’s (D-VA) GI Bill that McCain tirelessly opposed.
And Phillip Carter, Barack Obama’s National Veteran Vote Director (and himself an Army veteran of the war in Iraq), explained why McCain’s suggestion is a mistake:
“While we respect John McCain for his service to our country, we disagree with him strongly on how our nation should care for its veterans. Limiting VA Care to veterans who have ‘injuries that are a direct result of combat’ is a dramatic shift in policy with potentially devastating effects on millions of veterans who currently depend on the VA. The VA does not distinguish between combat-related conditions and conditions caused by non-combat service. There is no difference between an injury caused on a battlefield and one caused on the deck of an aircraft carrier or in training. The VA should not start to ration care with this criterion. Barack Obama wants to honor the sacred trust we have with all our nation’s veterans and not ration care. When troops serve, they are not divided by priority groups. Yet, today the VA is picking and choosing which veterans to serve. Barack Obama is committed to ending the unfair ban on healthcare enrollment of ‘Priority 8’ veterans who often earn only modest incomes. As president, one of Barack Obama’s first acts will be signing an executive order reversing this ban.”
FreeProton
says:…vigorously supported Sen. Jim Webb’s (D-VA) GI Bill that McCain tirelessly opposed.
Um… haven’t you been paying attention to McCain and Bush? They were FOR the GI Bill after they were against it. Or … something…
zeitgeist
says:so, just to make sure I have this McCainian Logic correct,
* if I offer to give better educational benefits to veterans, that is bad because it might reduce my total force size as soldiers quit to get the education, and force size is more important than the educational benefit;
* we should cut veterans’ helath care benefits. presumably that will have no disincentive impact on force size.
i’ve heard of organizations where the left hand and right hand don’t know what the other is doing, but in McCain’s case I’m wondering about the left and right hemispheres.
The Answer is Orange
says:What. A. Schmuck.
McCainiac was against extending educational benefits because in his tiny brain that would discourage people from re-enlisting. Now he’s against the health benefit for vets who aren’t suffering from combat injuries because … What? It will encourage people to go out an get shot? What the hell happens to the guy who is out there in a support role but happens to be in the way when a RPG comes over the wall?
I guess this would also axe any benefits for family members since the kiddies don’t tend to get into combat zones.
And I’m sure I’m not the first to notice that this would eliminate benefits to female soldiers since they aren’t allowed in combat.
Complete dick head. The ReThugs are Pro-Life until it is out of the womb and support the troops, until they need support.
Lance
says:JSMcC*nt’s campaign brags that their candidate can campaign tirelessly (only 4 to 5 days a week of course, but tirelessly) without a problem.
I think the problem here is that JSMcC*nt wants to turn the whole civilian health care system into a Veterans First system (give them a card they can use ANYWHERE) while saving VA facilities for veterans with combat related injuries. But he forgot to mention the card. So he looks like a total tool.
Which is fair. He is a tool.
Dale
says:“While we respect John McCain for his service to our country,
This phrase is like a mantra in the Obama camp. Pretty smart because it shows respect, and it also turns it into a meaningless phrase so that when McCain brags about his service people have already heard it a hundred times.
McCain is a conservative. He thinks what we have is all we can have (government-wise). He wants to conserve the limited resource of health care for veterans because we surely can’t spend more money on it.
Tom
says:McCain=Bush. That is all that needs to be said. Welcome President Obama.
Stevio
says:The MSM won’t start to do their “job” with hold accountable this ass hole until McAce cuts of the barbeque. Yep. Shutting down the food trough will turn those “journalists” into wild ponies bent on destroying the myth that the GOP candidate has anything going for him other than free food. Just when you think it can’t get any worse…
Nashville_fan
says:If America elects John McCain as President, that will be the final proof that Armageddon is indeed upon us.
smiley
says:I’ve always scoffed at the notion that McCain is trying to blow it so he can step down “honorably” citing “exhaustion”, or some such, to let someone else pick up the mantle at the convention. Now I’m not so sure that’s not right. He’s losing it.
Steve
says:The McCain campaign has clearly settled on their “campaign slogan.”
“Hello. I’m John McCain, and I hate (fill in the blank).”
You’ve pretty much got to be stone dead, stone-dead dumb, or Republican to get that one wrong….
Franklin
says:I thought McCain chastised that one guy at a town hall who said he didn’t have a perfect record with all veterans organizations. Are you telling me that McCain lied about this? Unheard of.
ROTFLMLiberalAO
says:Well I will say one thing for the McCain of the last week…
He is uniting democrats in a way that far outstrips the efforts of Barack and Hillary.
We are all on the same page again…
About fricking time.
beep52
says:“While we respect John McCain for his service to our country…”
That line and its seemingly infinite permutations are really starting to piss me off. For the life of me, I can’t remember such constant deference being paid to John Kerry.
slappy magoo
says:so a guy crippled in an accident on the way to or from Iraq deserves less care than the guy who got crippled in iraq. Nice. Next thing you know, we’re gonna see tons of mysterious injuries occurring during a soldier’s last week/day/hour of deployment just to ensire they don’t lose benefits. Support the troops, don’t heal their wounds unless you absolutely have to. That’s the GOP way.
It’s obvious to me McCain, decades later, harbors hostility towards anyone who didn’t go through what he went through. He wants people to suffer as he has, and if it must be at his hand, so be it. a good reporter might one day ask why.
Decline to State
says:Euthanize him before he does any more damage.
I am a VietNam vet with no injuries that are “a direct result of combat”. And I hate this man with a passion that borders on the maniacal. Anyone who can continue to follow his insanity after this latest has, indeed, suffered injuries that are an “indirect result of this campaign” and should be denied all forms of care until they beg for mercy after standing in line for 6 months. Or, just bury them, dead or alive. They will not be missed. Include Katie C(**t) among them.
goalkeeper
says:Is being tortured by the enemy while imprisoned “a direct result of combat’?
If not, then McCain’s injuries would not be covered under his view of reality!
Decline to State
says:I would also suggest that for the jeffs and other trolls out there who have an opinion contrary to the predominant one here: you best not express it if you have any self-respect at all. You have not place to go…
Jack Sanderson
says:This is the last straw for me. I was for Bob Barr…but McCain was my second choice before Obama. But I am a veteran who wants VA Care extended to Europe and Asia because many of us veterans LIVE in Europe and Asia.
Now I want Obama before this back-stabbing clown.
I know the Landstuhl Base in Germany is busy with the Iraq War wounded and I would never challenge the government in court to force them to provide me medical care there at this point.
But when the Iraq War finally dies down, you better believe I want my free medical care available at at least one base in Europe so, if I get cancer, I do not have to fly back to the USA for treatment.
Do you realize that McCain voted FOR unconstitutional federal financing for feminist groups, including fake women’s shelters to the tune of $400 Million this year?
McCain cares about getting the Clinton feminist vote and could not give a darn about male veterans whom he PRESUMES are in his POCKET anyway.
I am not a socialist: I served 4 years partly BECAUSE of the free medical care for life benefit. That was part of the contract for me. If I am going to let my son serve in the US military, especially with possible hostilities (the “Black Swan”) it will have to be for a worthwhile deal like that.
You don’t break contracts.
Roman soldiers got a piece of land for their service. American soldiers get what is basically catastrophic care health insurance (the wait-times for health care at VA hospitals is so horrendous that nobody with a full-time job and a non-terminal disease would have the incentive to use such a facility).
frank
says:The great “friend” of veterans, the one who said veteran’s benefits were too generous, said today that it is time to start “rationing” health care to veterans so those coming home injured get the care they need. All you past veterans could lose your VA benefits.(all veterans should get the benefits they have earn through their scarifice)
Sounds like McCain wants to make sure everyone has the same health care….. none.
He has also said Social Security is a “disgrace”.
Seems the one who wants to take away everyone’s benefits has no problem collecting 4 Government checks of his own. He even applied for and accepts Social Security while telling everyone it is a “disgrace” that they get it.
His four government checks include: Navy Retirement, 100% disability, Senate Pay, Social Security.
On a side note if a candidate for President has been declared 100% disabled by anyone does’t the voters have a right to know why and see his medical records? Is any of the “disability” base on mental issues?
beep52
says:Jack Sanderson… Funny, isn’t it, that one doesn’t need to be a socialist to think that citizens have obligations to one another. Most folks I know recognize that and not one is a socialist. Most are self-proclaimed Christians and the rest are just ethical, responsible folks. Maybe that’s the connection, eh?
Lance
says:Jack Sanderson said: “Roman soldiers got a piece of land for their service.”
And the Roman Republic fought civil wars with their client Italian Cities when they tried to use the Cities’ property to do it. One has to be careful before claiming that paying off veterans comes before every other consideration.
Thanks for your service by the way. -I- would be happy to pay more taxes to provide you health care in Europe, and I make more than $80,000 a year.
Wren
says:I’m a 51-year-old female veteran who served in the Air Force during peacetime. Once out of the military I got medical insurance through my employers. All was good.
But now, I’ve been unemployed for 18 months. When I was laid off from my job, I lost my medical benefits and was unable to afford health insurance on my own. After more than a year, I finally turned to the VA for medical care, fearing the consequences should I become ill before I could find a new job that could offer me medical insurance as part of a benefits package.
I am charged a co-pay (comparable to that I paid when I had medical insurance) for prescription medications and an additional fee if I am referred to specialists within the VA system. It’s very fair. I would be glad to pay more, within my means, if they should ask me to. I also want to point out that the vast majority of military veterans, regardless of when they served or whether they were injured during their service, never turn to the VA for their medical care. Most, like me, pay into the health insurance industry like other Americans and only turn to the VA as a stop-gap measure or as a last resort.
The VA doctors found a suspicious lump in my breast during my initial physical. I will soon undergo a biopsy to discover whether the lump is malignant. Chances are good it won’t be, but if it is, I am deeply thankful that the VA is still allowed to fulfill the promise it made to me — and to all military veterans — to care for us in the future should the need arise.
This medical care just may save my life.
So I’m appalled that John McCain would even consider further cutting VA medical services. America’s all-voluntary military serves in peacetime and war, knowing that they could be called at any moment to risk their lives for their country. I was lucky. I served in the late 70s and early 80s and was never called upon to risk my life. But had I been, I would have. It was what I’d pledged to do.
I have nothing but deep respect for the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines serving now in Iraq and Afghanistan. They deserve our unbridled support, and they certainly deserve good, quality health care from the VA medical system should they need it. But so should the thousands and thousands of other veterans who’ve served and who have also made sacrifices, whether they served in peace or during war.
Would Mr. McCain now deny my husband, who is a disabled veteran, or me, the medical care we were promised when we raised our right hand and took the oath just because we weren’t wounded on a battlefield? Would he deny care to the thousands and thousands of Vietnam and Korean War vets, most of whom also were not wounded in battle, simply because they also didn’t receive battlefield injuries during their service?
American veterans come in all shapes and sizes, colors and genders. While I believe that those who were wounded in battle should always get a respectful and cheerful pass to the front of the line, all veterans deserve equal care. And all of them should receive the very best care a proud nation can provide for them. This was the promise our nation made to us in return for our willingness to lose our lives in defense of our country and fellow Americans.
Shame on John McCain, one of America’s most famous veterans, for forgetting that all veterans took a terrible risk the day they joined up. Shame on him for suggesting that VA benefits be cut when America is spending millions of dollars every single day, paying for the war in Iraq, which did not need to be fought. Those millions could easily cover the costs of caring for America’s veterans, many times over.
N.Wells
says:I never expected much from McCain, but I am completely astonished at the magnitude of his incompetence as a candidate.
When Republicans say they are for the military, they generally mean expensive weapons systems, defense contractors, and politically reliable generals. It has been a long time since they supported the rank and file in ways more meaningful than displaying flag pins and patriotic bumper stickers.
Mike
says:My dad goes to the VA every couple of weeks, his health problems aren’t “combat” related. During the Korean war he was a DI, I guess that isn’t good enough for McCain. Veterans and military should be the countries first priority, never in the history of the world has so many been protected by so few. Shame on McCain!
WhiskeyBravo
says:McCain looks at it from the perspective that he was a POW and he sacrificed, so no one should question anything he says or any stance he takes. That is one reason why I think he would attack Iran and even have no qualms about starting a draft, he sacrificed for his country and doesn’t expect anything less from you and your children…. unless you are unAmerican?
I think spending for vets and military families should increase, a military family should never be on food stamps or live in condemned housing, not to mention they should never lose the healthcare that was promised to them.
Prup (aka Jim Benton)
says:Wren: Thanks for this wonderful piece, and for giving me a new — very well written — site to bookmark. Welcome aboard, and hope to see more from you.
(Btw, I came out as either Picard or Riker, both at 70%)
libra
says:I’m sure this comment was taken out of context, as all McCain’s comments have been, recently.
/snark (is that the right way to end snark? I’m getting tired of smileys)
Actually, I’m not at all surprised McCain would like to cut benefits for non-combat related healthcare; what surprises me is that he’d still allow benefits for combat related injuries, especially serious ones. After all, a seriously wounded soldier cannot be sent back right away (maybe ever) and, if he can’t be sent back, what use is he? Perhaps that’s step two of McCain’s vision for veteran healthcare : cut health benefits to all seriously wounded combat veterans.
mishanti
says:I was in the Army during the VietNam war and was injured on duty.Since I am a female I was NOT in a combat area as it wasn’t possible for women unless they were nurses to go there. I spent many months at Walter Reed and had several surgeries. I get medical care at the VA because of this and now McCain wants to stop that and only have those injured in combat get care…..that would be at least 1/2 of all the Vets at my VA hospital. Perhaps he doesn’t know that the VA has telephones now so people don’t have to stand in line to get appointments…we call on the phone. Has he even walked into one of the newer medical centers and seen what goes on there? I go to Hunter Holmes McGuire in Richmond, VA and it is outstanding. It now has one of the largest spinal cord injury units for those coming back from the war zones. He needs to shut his mouth.
jhm
says:That Washington Monthly piece on the VA system is one of the few positive ones I’ve seen. It seems that part of the reason that they continually get inadequate funding is because its success would be an argument in favor of many of the reforms that conservatives hate. Hon. Sen. McCain has routinely ridiculed the VA (“make an appointment to make an appointment…”), and I think that part of this is a move to deflect a good example of the progress that we could achieve in the country as a whole if we could get past the ‘socialized medicine’ calumnies.
Libra, try “<snark>” This should render as: </snark>
libra
says:Libra, try “<snark>” This should render as: — jhm, @29
You’ve gotta be kiddin’ me… At my age, I don’t have enough grey cells left to try and remember “<snark. Besides… what’s the advantage? “< is one hell of a lot longer/more time consuming than /. And… it looks like some mealymouthed euphemism for “f**k”. I’ll just have to watch and see how others manage to open and close their snarks…
libra
says:Weird… I copied/pasted jhm’s advice as it showed on my screen, which was: “< (the open quote, the “and” sign, the “number” sign, zero, zero, three — the number for it, C, semicolon) followed by: snark>” (the word snark, the left-pointing arrow, the close quote). But something entirely different showed up when it posted. In goes food, out comes…
The Answer is Orange
says:Has McRampStrike issued his standard: “Just because I said [blank], doesn’t mean I really meant [blank]” statement yet?
Tom Cleaver
says:“Right now, there are people who drive a long way and they stand in line to stand in line to get an appointment to get an appointment,” McCain said.
Another lie.
I guess Grampy not only has difficulty with computers, he doesn’t understand telephones. You call the provider (on a toll-free number), you get your appointment.
Failure at “trade school,” dumb enough to get himself shot down, too stupid to hold down a naval command….
Rose Hamrick
says:McCain is so far out of touch: VA healthcare is ALREADY rationed. What else do you call it when 100% disabled Vietnam Veterans are getting ‘telephone appointments’ to “see” a cardiologist? There are signs up in VA hospitals telling ophthalmologists to push back 6 month checks ups to 9 months or longer. The Vet’s “primary provider” is no more than a case manager as he has to spend the alloted 20 minute appointment on the computer figuring how many refills the patient will need before he comes back for his 6 month check up, which is now being pushed back to 7-9 months. Vets with PTSD get a 15 minute appointment with a psychiatrist every 6 month to renew meds: there is no on-going therapy.
I call that rationing.