Thursday, March 19, 2009

What the F***? We send them to War, Than expect them to pay when they get wounded???

Has any one heard of this?

I keep thinking of my son and all those other wounded kids I saw and ask myself, what is he thinking?
They is no way my son or the small company he worked for before being sent to war could afford to
pay for the medical care that will be life long now!!!!

So now our country is going to send the kids to war, and if they are unlucky enough to get wounded,
than our country is going to charge them with the bills?


The American Legion Strongly Opposed to President's Plan to Charge Wounded Heroes for Treatment

Mon Mar 16, 5:49 pm ET

To: POLITICAL EDITORS


Contact: Craig Roberts of The American Legion, +1-202-263-2982 Office, +1-202-406-0887 Cell


WASHINGTON, March 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The leader of the nation's largest veterans organization says he is "deeply disappointed and concerned" after a meeting with President Obama today to discuss a proposal to force private insurance companies to pay for the treatment of military veterans who have suffered service-connected disabilities and injuries. The Obama administration recently revealed a plan to require private insurance carriers to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in such cases.


"It became apparent during our discussion today that the President intends to move forward with this unreasonable plan," said Commander David K. Rehbein of The American Legion. "He says he is looking to generate $540-million by this method, but refused to hear arguments about the moral and government-avowed obligations that would be compromised by it."


The Commander, clearly angered as he emerged from the session said, "This reimbursement plan would be inconsistent with the mandate ' to care for him who shall have borne the battle' given that the United States government sent members of the armed forces into harm's way, and not private insurance companies. I say again that The American Legion does not and will not support any plan that seeks to bill a veteran for treatment of a service connected disability at the very agency that was created to treat the unique need of America's veterans!"


Commander Rehbein was among a group of senior officials from veterans service organizations joining the President, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki and Steven Kosiak, the overseer of defense spending at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The group's early afternoon conversation at The White House was precipitated by a letter of protest presented to the President earlier this month. The letter, co-signed by Commander Rehbein and the heads of ten colleague organizations, read, in part, " There is simply no logical explanation for billing a veteran's personal insurance for care that the VA has a responsibility to provide. While we understand the fiscal difficulties this country faces right now, placing the burden of those fiscal problems on the men and women who have already sacrificed a great deal for this country is unconscionable."


Commander Rehbein reiterated points made last week in testimony to both House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees. It was stated then that The American Legion believes that the reimbursement plan would be inconsistent with the mandate that VA treat service-connected injuries and disabilities given that the United States government sends members of the armed forces into harm's way, and not private insurance companies. The proposed requirement for these companies to reimburse the VA would not only be unfair, says the Legion, but would have an adverse impact on service-connected disabled veterans and their families. The Legion argues that, depending on the severity of the medical conditions involved, maximum insurance coverage limits could be reached through treatment of the veteran's condition alone. That would leave the rest of the family without health care benefits. The Legion also points out that many health insurance companies require deductibles to be paid before any benefits are covered. Additionally, the Legion is concerned that private insurance premiums would be elevated to cover service-connected disabled veterans and their families, especially if the veterans are self-employed or employed in small businesses unable to negotiate more favorable across-the-board insurance policy pricing. The American Legion also believes that some employers, especially small businesses, would be reluctant to hire veterans with service-connected disabilities due to the negative impact their employment might have on obtaining and financing company health care benefits.


"I got the distinct impression that the only hope of this plan not being enacted," said Commander Rehbein, "is for an alternative plan to be developed that would generate the desired $540-million in revenue. The American Legion has long advocated for Medicare reimbursement to VA for the treatment of veterans. This, we believe, would more easily meet the President's financial goal. We will present that idea in an anticipated conference call with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel in the near future.


"I only hope the administration will really listen to us then. This matter has far more serious ramifications than the President is imagining," concluded the Commander.


SOURCE The American Legion




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Sunday, March 01, 2009

Just a Lazy Hazy Sunday Afternoon





Joshua has a new fur butt Pal he renamed from Ringo to Motley....doesn't matter the dog comes to anything you call him...LOL

It is nice to know he has a barker in case someone messes around his home...

Spike turned 19 on the 26 of Feb, 2009 and Joshua will turn 27 on the 10th of March, 2009.

The time is flying by so quickly....it seems like yesterday the 8 year boy was holding his new born brother in his arms chatting to him on the sofa with his best friend Joshua Van Houten telling him to make sure to Love and Watch out for him because sometimes little brothers die.

His best friends baby brother had passed away from crib death...his mother and I over heard them and just wiped away the tears as one boy passed on a sad wisdom to his friend...At the time I did not realize what an impact those words would have on Joshua, words he took to heart and spent the past 19 years keeping his promise to his friend that he would take special care to watch over his youngest brother he held so close to his heart that afternoon.

Despite being wheel chair bound these days with no real functioning vocal cords yet...he still rules as eldest brother, and lets him know he is still top dog in the brother world...LOL His sense of humor still shines through with silly faces and sticking out that tongue at you to let you know when he thinks your being silly...:0)

Happy Birthday to both of you Young men, who will always be my silly boys in my heart....

Love

Mom