Congressional Budget Health Options

[PepperElf]

http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=9925
Budget Options, Volume 1: Health Care


Yeah I posted this over at the main site... because regardless of political views, it is something everyone should know - what the government is planning to do about health care.


Some of the answers are somewhat ... surprising. Mostly, adding in "cost sharing" to federal and military members. (Aka adding out of pocket expense)

Option 94
Require Federal Employees Health Benefits Plans to Subsidize Premiums for Medicare Part B and Reduce Coverage of Medicare Cost Sharing by an Equivalent Amount

Option 95
Increase Health Care Cost Sharing for Family Members of Active-Duty Military Personnel

Option 96
Introduce Minimum Out-of-Pocket Requirements Under TRICARE For Life

Option 97
Increase Medical Cost Sharing for Military Retirees Who Are Not Yet Eligible for Medicare

Option 98
Require Copayments for Medical Care Provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to Enrollees Without a Service-Connected Disability




Yeah I know they want to address the "health care" issue, provide for all... It's just interesting to see who gets targeted to pay more just to support everyone else eh?

Apparently one of the answers is the Military.
And I suspect they'll be targets for even more things yet to come.

[Evandril]

And one of the reasons I joined was for the free health care...yay...*sighs*

[daleduke17]

Yeah I know they want to address the "health care" issue, provide for all... It's just interesting to see who gets targeted to pay more just to support everyone else eh?

Apparently one of the answers is the Military.
And I suspect they'll be targets for even more things yet to come.

I hate to be "Anti-American" but, with all of the freebies that military members (and their families) get, they can pay for some more of their healthcare.

[Evandril]

I hate to be "Anti-American" but, with all of the freebies that military members (and their families) get, they can pay for some more of their healthcare.

Ummm...Ok...Care to name 'em for me, please?

[daleduke17]

Ummm...Ok...Care to name 'em for me, please?

- Education (something like 40,000 towards college)
- Home loans
- scholarships (outside of the Montgomery GI Bill)
- Medical care
- Preferential Treatment for jobs (irregardless of relevance to what you did in the military)

Just to name a few. Just because you join the military doesn't mean you should be given just about anything you want. You joined voluntarily. If it was a draft situation, that's different.

[Evandril]

Education (something like 40,000 towards college) - Will give you that one
- Home loans - Slightly better than what you can get...but only slightly
- scholarships (outside of the Montgomery GI Bill) - Doesn't count twice
- Medical care - This is what we'd be *losing*...and our job isn't the safest in the world. The emergency room onbase tends to have people there 24/7...being treated...for work related injuries
- Preferential Treatment for jobs (irregardless of relevance to what you did in the military) - That's not part of being in the military...it's a side effect, since we tend to know how to actually *work*

The small fact we're paid *less* for what we do than anyone else doing the same job, we're on call 24/7, and routinely get seperated from our families for extended periods of time...Most of the military who have been serving for under six years qualify for *food stamps*...but we get too many benifits?? Yeah, I'm not convinced here, sorry.

That education one ties into that as well...You know how much fun it is to take classes when you might have to pack up and leave in the middle of the semester, or miss your finals due to work taking away your time off?

[Boozy]

Members of the military shouldn't have to pay a dime for their healthcare. The US needs these men and women in peak health.

Service people have already essentially donated their bodies to the military. Their lives and health is at the disposal of their country. The least we should do is pay for their medical expenses.

[DesignFox]

I have to agree with Boozy.

I don't begrudge our military the benefits they are given. All our military personnel sacrifice a great deal. I can't even imagine being separated from my friends, family or SO for months at a time. I have no desire to be shipped off to wherever the government feels like sending me... and I'm pretty happy my SO isn't working for the government. I can't imagine having to uproot every couple of years...(my ex's father worked for the Coast Guard- his family had to move about every 5 years- he has literally been all over the country).

If it wasn't for the work they do, I couldn't be sitting where I am now doing the things I love, in the places I want to be, with the people I want to be with.

And let me tell you- its not like all the military families are rich and sitting pretty. My ex told me stories about how his family had to occasionally rob Peter to pay Paul. They were never in danger of getting thrown out on the street, but they weren't exactly having lobster dinners every night if you know what I'm saying.

[Giggle Goose]

The people in the military get so many "freebies" because their actually PAY is crap. Have you SEEN an enlisted pay scale? And you can forget going to school when you have to be on active duty. Some people do it, but it's REALLY hard.
What is a simple $20 coapy for me can really add up for military families.

Some people I know in the military have stayed in for years just so they could finally get some decent pay, like my uncle in the Coast Guard. But I have a really good friend who just got out of the Air Force after 6 years and has all this money for college, but it doesn't pay for room and board, so he still has to work to pay the rent.

The only other benefit I can think of is shopping tax-exempt at a commissary, but it isn't free. I've been to many and they still seem to cost just as much as any other grocery store (minus the taxes). Just think about the big picture.

I used to feel the same way until I got to know people in the military. Didn't mean to get defensive, sorry

[protege]

Let's not forget that some returning vets did *not* get a hero's welcome when they came home. Vietnam anyone? Instead, they got spit on, and treated like shit, simply because they fought in an unpopular war. How do I know this? Well, my father was one of them. He served as an armed escort for the media. Did he get drafted? Hell no--he chose to risk his life for his country. He was one of the lucky ones. Still, my family struggled...simply because other than the VFW, and Vietnam vets' groups, nobody's looking out for their interests.

What pisses me off, is that our military people give their lives for this country...and get "rewarded" with shitty pay. I consider what they get paid to be "shit wages," considering the risks. Yet, they continue to risk their lives for our benefit.

Also, consider the mental problems that some soldiers have to deal with. Dad was telling me that a few of the vets he was talking with...still suffer from flashbacks or other problems. Seeing your friends getting blown to bits doesn't go away easily. Other vets, still bear wounds from the war--amputations, heavy scars, etc.

[Evandril]

The only other benefit I can think of is shopping tax-exempt at a commissary, but it isn't free. I've been to many and they still seem to cost just as much as any other grocery store (minus the taxes). Just think about the big picture.

That's not including the 'surcharge' the commissary adds in...which tends to equal tax, all in all *shrugs* I don't shop on base much, in general...Other than high dollar items where the tax break makes it worth it.

[Teysa]

My dad was in Vietnam too. He's still suffering ill effects from his time there. I don't think I'll ever completely understand what he went through.
One of the stories I heard was that when he came home his mother had moved away and didn't bother leaving a forwarding address.

I'm not sure if this still applies or not, but my mom told me that the Vietnam Veterans never got full benefits because it wasn't an official war. That may have changed though.

[PepperElf]

plus "free medical"... well it's not always what it's cracked up to be.

Just because you're sick, doesn't mean they're actually going to treat you. I've had had times when they were like "yeah we know you're sick but we're too busy, so no sick-call for you."

Hell on the last ship... my boyfriend was sick... the doctor said, "You have pneumonia, we're not going to treat it." Yeah. The most they gave him was permission to sleep in one day when he woke up barfing.

In fact, I didn't know this until I got to that last ship but... there's a limit of how many people they'll let be SIQ (sick in quarters). Once they reach that limit, even if you're sick... you have to go to work. And yes they hit that limit during a couple of gastro outbreaks.

And sometimes they just refuse to see you. BF also picked up pink eye once... Normally he's stubborn and will work sick (hell he worked with freakin pneumonia), but he's very keen on keeping his eyes healthy. So when he got pinkeye he went to medical right as they opened and was told, "There's no appointments for you, come back tomorrow."

On the advice of someone else, he went back and requested a consult (permission to go to base medical). Magically, and appointment opened up, and the doc gave him eye drops and some prescription eye cream. He threw out the eye drops though, cos they were expired.


And ... oy. Inoculations!

First of all Anthrax. You really have faith in something when a ship schedules a pro-anthrax propaganda speech ... and the person giving the speech had a lot of "I don't know" answers to sailors' concerns. But, if you refuse to get the shot you go to mast!

If that doesn't work, well they can always get security to physically restrain you and force the shot.

Oh and if you're lucky they actually read your records properly. I was in medical for shots once and the lady said, "you need shot-a, shot-b and shot-c" (I forget what it was). I was like... "I just had shot-b last week...." ... It finally dawned on the woman that she was reading the wrong page in my charts.


And a Malpractice Lawsuit? No such animal in the military. You're stuck with whatever they screw up.