by Hal Eaton » Sat May 31, 2014 10:15 pm
I've just been trying to read the lengthy posts of Dave and ET on this subject. They seem to disagree, at least in part, as to the "role of Government." The same disagreement is endemic in all of our TV news sources, largely because of either the ignorance or the bi-partisan role of many of the commentators.
I have listened to the critics of the Veterans Affairs fiasco (Faux News used the word "scandal" four times in about three minutes). My problem with the coverage is that nobody, so far, has appeared to have any knowledge of the limits placed on the processes of giving veterans health care. The commentators have wept long and loud about what we owe to all our patriotic veterans for their service to our country. The VA is not now, nor has it ever, offered free health care to the literally millions of veterans in the USA.
One of the major limits on the governments largesse toward veterans is that such health care is indeed classifiable as a charity. It is offered to any veteran who cannot afford to pay for his own health care. In the requirements for a successful application for care, the veteran must show inabilty to cover such costs based on stated amounts he/she is allowed to earn before the appeal for care is approved. (I believe the cut-off for care is pegged at $35,000 annual earnings for a single person, with about $6,000 added for each dependent. I am unsure of the exact amounts, but they can be acquired on the internet.)
My own experience occurred in 1947. I had been released from my enlistment a few months earlier, having been plagued by throat problems during my 20 months of service. Upon my application for a tonsilectomy, I was asked if I could afford the cost. I had been married three months before, was back in school on the GI Bill, and reported my (and my wife's) current income. I entered a VA hospital and the operation was performed. I met only the doctor who performed the surgery. He put a blindfold over my eyes, sat me in a chair, asked me to hold a tray with his instruments on it, and proceded to do his job, ending with a curt, "Cough 'em up."
I drove myself home (40 miles) the next day or so. I had no objections to the procedure or its conclusion. It was free, because of (1) my prior service, and (2) I was unable to pay the cost.
Medicare and Tricare cover nearly all of my health care costs now. Medicare covers most of the cost; I've been a recipient for 22 years. Tricare (or a previous program under another name) covered the total cost for 21 years; and the remainder of Medicare's costs for 22 years, based on my 26 years of Naval service.
I would not attempt to add up the total costs of such care. Part was in payment for military service, part was due to the acts of Congress which are applicable to all 65-and-over folks. Even "illegals"--a rather disgusting term--can utilize emergency rooms, with all their drawbacks, for health care. And the Affordable Care Act, if allowed to proceed, will spread the availability to most, if not all.
About the cost of my care: I've had a quad by-pass, two hospitalizations for placement of stents, 22 years of diabetic supplies, a colonoscopy and later removal of one-third of my colon, three operations to remove kidney stones, a knee replaced (and the other needs it), occasional visits to the emergency room for low blood sugar occurences, care for a transient ischemic attack which left me lost miles out in the country; and the newest complaint: a failing memory (where are my glasses, hearing aids, car keys, the hammer, the screwdriver, and my wife? I lost my truck the other day . . .)
Frankly, I wouldn't mind paying more in taxes if my personal kind of health care could be offered to all -- including those who read this folderol.
It is error only, and not truth, that shrinks from inquiry. -- Thomas Paine