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Should US armed services veterans be entitled to free/discounted medical services for life?
Results so far:
| Yes | 85% | 136 votes | Total: 160 votes | |
| No | 15% | 24 votes |
Yes
by J. Lee Kenser
Created on: November 17, 2007 Last Updated: January 18, 2011
I think that all Veterans of both Peacetime and Wars should receive free/discounted medical services at all VA Administration facilities. After all, congress and Presidents do and many of those individuals never took up arms to defend this nation.
Veterans of all branches of Armed Services should be allowed to walk into any VA Medical Facility and be seen provided they received an Honorable Discharge. If under the military standards they were discharged then why shouldn't they get those benefits? What has a Congress/Presidential office holder done that was any better?
I am both appalled and ashamed at the amount of Veterans being denied benefits while they served proudly and honorably. I personally witnessed several advance their careers through rank advancement at the same time faking their problems in order to get medically discharged. While others who really were suffering continued to stay in and only got an Honorable Discharge and cannot get any medical attention now.
How many homeless Veterans of our nation need to sleep on the streets, lose their jobs, find them financially strapped while the government bureaucrats continue to make six-figured salaries. This appalling as I watch the Army continues to struggle with recruitment goals and call back to service people whom they didn't want anymore in the first place.
They pushed out devoted men and women who couldn't continue to meet both weight/fat ratio standards as well as other issues. This was an issue in the early 1990's used to lighten the financial constraints during peacetime. They closed big bases including Fort Ord, Ca. home of the 7th Infantry Division (Light) where I had previously served. Many of these people were put on Honorable terms and now because they did not get a medical discharge are unable to receive medical attention as other Veterans are.
There are many Vietnam era Veterans who are still not getting the medical attention they deserve. Many were exposed to deadly toxins in order to defeat the enemy while the US Government continues to deny them benefits, shame on them. And there are many Gulf War Veterans who are still struggling about what they may or may not have been exposed to.
All the while our Government officials which we elect continue to cut programs while they continue to receive benefits that our own Veterans cannot get. While not paying a cent out of their own pockets to cover their major surgeries. Who paid for Dick Cheney's heart surgeries at Walter Reed? You did with your tax dollars. Taxation with incorporation these days.
Maybe if our Veterans all ran Fortune 500 companies they wouldn't be refusing others who served Honorably in the past. Remember not everyone who serves sees combat and that doesn't make them less of a Veteran. They were still willing to serve which is more than some others ever did.
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No
by Centralist Business Initiatives K. D. Lecy
Created on: January 30, 2011 Last Updated: February 02, 2011
It depends on the service members years served and if he/she was wounded in battle.
If a service member was not wounded and served 20 years, then I agree the individual should receive the discounted medical services equal to the time served. I disagree with providing life long discount and or free health care for individuals that leave the same way as when they came in. And why I believe this is because what purpose does it serve other then to grant entitlement? Why are service members entitled for a life time? Did the service member serve for a life time? No. And being that they didn't, it is right and just to provide medical services equal to time served.
Let's say a service member was physically wounded in battle also suffers from PTSD and he only served 7 years. This situation calls for extensive service if not a life time of services. And why I say this? Is because this soldier sacrificed more then the soldier who was not injured. Sacrificed more as in how? For God's sake he lost both his arms and suffers from extreme battle fatigue. This soldier is now and forever dependent on the VA hospital for the rest of his life. How can a person not distinguish the two? There is no comparison.
Not only would this newly formed system cut back on cost for the defense department, but it would also provide more funding for soldiers who were injured in battle. It's not a balancing act, it's common sense. What part of 'can the defense department cover the cost of veterans the rest of their lives', conclude it's sound policy? It isn't sound policy because #1 the rise in health care cost has completely destroyed the quality of service. And because it has, soldiers that are wounded are receiving less then adequate health care. I frown upon wounded soldiers receiving inadequate care. It is wrong, and worse what does it say to the soldier who gave it his all, and lost a part of who he is? It is saying the defense department doesn't care about the emotional, or psychological well-being of its employees. What kind of employer treats its employees like this? Not an employer I would be interested in. It is no wonder soldiers are upset with how the defense department treats them. Being treated like a number leaves little room to feel like he did a great service. For a wounded soldier, where is the 'thank you for your service?" It doesn't exist, because the health care they receive is next to nothing.
It is my opinion when quality health care fails to exist, it says a lot about the defense department as a whole. What does failing to care for wounded soldiers say about our overall fighting force? It is no wonder morale is low. DOD the largest employer in America can't adequately provide medical benefits for their wounded employees.
What do our fighting forces of today have to look forward too, if they are wounded? Look forward too? More like they are worried if they will be cared for at all. Knowing how previous warriors are treated.
What does the DOD have to offer those who sacrificed more then their limbs? It doesn't have adequate health care for the wounded because the current policy provides for all soldiers, regardless of injuries, soldiers are treated the same. Just a like a number.
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