TPM alum Spencer Ackerman points to a genuinely inexplicable revenue-raising move being considered by the Obama administration: charging veterans through their private health insurance companies for injuries suffered during their service.
Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Eric Shinseki confirmed yesterday that the administration is weighing whether to start charging veterans for their combat-related injuries — an admission that got strongly shot down by both Democratic and Republican senators.
It’s worth noting that progressives hammered Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) during his presidential bid last year for suggesting that veterans should be able to seek private treatment for health problems unrelated to their service. Should the Obama VA follow through with the plan it’s now considering, it would arguably be moving farther right than McCain on the sensitive question of privatizing veterans’ health care.
Late Update: The Navy Times offers more background on the private-insurance proposal under consideration by the Obama VA, explaining:
Whether private insurers would pay anything [on service-related claims] would depend on their policies on serving as the second payer on medical expenses. Some insurance policies cover such costs and others do not.
