Veterans care

Update.--The Obama Administration and retracted this idea. That is good, a good decision and action. And I hope never to surface again. But it doesn't change my view which will stay as a matter of record against it.

There are stupid ideas and then there are dumb ideas. And on occasion there are even worse, ideas which are dumb and stupid on the face of them, wihtout going into any further discussion. Meaning, maybe an interesting thought, but something you quickly resort to the mental trash can.

And that's what the recent Obama administration's idea to use private healthcare providers and private insurance to care for war-related injuries sustained by veterans. The VA can now use private insurers for non-military related conditions and healthcare, and that's seems reasonable to me, especially if the individual can or does have health insurance.

But never for any war-related healthcare. I won't save money, only where the money goes, into the hands of for-profit health insurance carriers and healthcare providers, usually hospitals. It's belongs in and with the Veterans Administration. The VA should only be allowed when it benefits the veterans, usually because of distance due to family, work or other concerns, and the provider can provide equal or better healthcare than the VA can.

It's really very simple. It's what the American people do for their veterans. I am a veteran, and while I never needed to use the VA healthcare system, it doesn't change how I feel about my fellow veterans, especially those who served in a war zone and were injured. They risked their life for us and our country.

It's always the right thing to do for our veterans. I want my tax money to do that, support them as we always have and even better and more so now.