Voucherized VA?

It has been only a few weeks since the health care scandal at the Department of Veterans Affairs became public knowledge, and thus part of the political debate.  In our high-speed age of political digital discourse, it should surprise no one that a partisan take on this story has not only emerged, but already gone beyond the standard tactic of blaming the Obama Administration.  We have now had two conservative advocates, John McCain and Cal Thomas, attempting to turn this story into an argument against government heath care (and, hence, an argument in favor of "privatization").  Mr. Thomas' take on the subject can be found here; Senator McCain's can be found here.

This is an obvious attempt to revive the Obamacare debate through the back door, using our men and women in uniform as a cover for the subterfuge.  Leaving aside the question of how the public feels about the ACA at this point (and polls show that even its critics want to keep it), I frankly welcome the attempt.  Doing so allows for a discussion of how we got to the point of needing health care reform in the first place.

Long ago (three decades, to be exact), health insurance was provided through non-profit insurers, who in turn were subsidized in various ways by the tax code--in particular, the break that employers received for providing health insurance to their employees.  By and large, this system worked well up to the 1980s, the age of Reagan and the view that everything's better if it's done by businesses.  With much less fanfare than it deserved, our non-profit insurers were given the green light to become for-profit entities--and promptly started shedding their least affordable customers, those with pre-existing conditions or who were otherwise in need of extensive care.  The result was predictable:  a shrinking pool of subscribers to underwrite the cost of benefits, and a growing pool of people in poor health with nowhere to go but bankruptcy or Medicaid.

It is because of Reagan's push to turn health insurance into a capitalist paradise that we ended up needing universal health insurance more than ever.  It is also because of that push that we created a cabal of for-profit insurers that pushed back mightily for decades against any effort to make that happen (Google "Hillarycare" for a guided tour of the peak of that effort).  And it is only through government intervention in the form of the ACA that we may finally have a chance to get back to a system that works for almost all (if not all) Americans.

My point, as it relates to the VA scandal?  Government needs to be involved in health care to ensure that everybody gets it.  And, in the case of veterans, people we have put in harm's way, there is a moral imperative to do everything, including government assistance, to ensure that they get every inch of health care that they deserve.  Senator McCain, a former POW, knows this better than anyone--which is why his willingness to cut VA funding should shock even his supporters.

Then again, Senator McCain is a Republican.  His party is dedicated to privatizing everything it can touch--and willing to accomplish that through a war of inches.  Those of us on the other side should be demanding not only the restoration of cut funds, but full funding of VA benefits through cutting unneeded, overpriced weapons systems.   I realize that the manufactures of those systems are major campaign contributors.  But doing this would put a little meat on the bones of McCain's 2008 presidential slogan, "Country First."  (It might also help us forget that he inflicted Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber on us, which would be a nice side benefit).

This country fought two wars that were funded off-budget, to hide the costs.  It's time to reckon with those costs, and pay for them honestly, with tax dollars.  Our returning troops deserve a better welcome that the one Senator McCain and Mr. Thomas want to give them:  "Thanks for your service.  Here's a coupon.  Find a doctor who can treat advanced combat injuries--if you can."

Yes, I know they're talking only about outsourcing routine care.  For now.  Like I said, they love to play a game of inches.  How many inches do you want to give them before a veteran you know dies from their games?  Better to not let the games be played.  Better to give our veterans the last full measure of our appreciation though full public funding--no matter how much it hurts.  The alternative hurts them a lot more.