A great President, faced with the prospect of an overwhelming number of veterans of a bloody war, once said it was our nation's solemn duty "to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan."
Another man rose to power, with an unabashed comparison of himself to Lincoln. Today, however, one could be forgiven for wondering if that was all show. President Obama just told the man who has borne the battle, and his widow and his orphan to fend for themselves.
You have got to be kidding me.
cross-posted at The Stinging Nettle
Abraham Lincoln committed the country to care for its veterans. For the most part, the country has continued to do so.
Which is why my reaction to this story is a mixture of bewilderment and revulsion. The Obama Administration is actually considering requiring the private insurers of veterans (read: veterans) to pay for treatment of injuries incurred in battle.
Dear Mr. President. Hell no.
Are you kidding me? Not only is this politically stupid, it's reprehensible. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it is immoral. Medical bills from a closed head injury can easily, quickly and irreversibly exceed a health care policy's lifetime family limit. So, that wartime injury, if you force a veteran to go to his private insurer first for treatment, will end up costing his kids their coverage.
Brilliant plan.
I didn't vote for you, nor did most Americans, to drive veterans off the nation's healthcare rolls and onto private insurance. In fact, many of us elected you because you at least gave the impression you might take the opposite approach, and finally start to move the rest of us off private insurance and towards a sensible universal health care plan.
Silly me.
First you appoint Geithner and Summers. Now this.
I suggest you stop listening to whoever it is you're currently listening to. It ain't working.