Disabled War Vets Pay More For Health Care, Report Shows
BLOOMBERG NEWS SERVICE – San Diego Union Tribune
July 9, 2008
Many former U.S. service members who were disabled while fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan and live far from government facilities pay more for health care than other military retirees, a government report found.
To address this “inequity,” Congress should pass legislation waiving the requirement for disabled service members to pay premiums to enroll in the federal Medicare program, the report said. Under existing rules, the wounded military personnel must pay $1,157 a year for their premiums until they turn 65, according to the report.
Disabled veterans who don't live near clinics and hospitals operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Defense Department can use Medicare, the government health insurance program for the elderly and disabled, or buy private health insurance. Either way, they pay more, said the report by inspectors general of the two departments.
The report is one of several government reviews prompted by a series of articles in The Washington Post describing the poor quality of care for wounded veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. The investigators focused their recommendations on three issues not covered by other reports.
The report also urged the Defense Department to create an office to ensure that wounded service members have a “seamless transition” as they transfer out of the military health care system and into the system operated by the VA.
In a third recommendation, the inspectors general urged the VA to propose legislation in Congress that would provide grants to help disabled veterans remodel their homes for wheelchair ramps, accessible showers and other needed amenities.
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