MEMORIAL DAY 2014
God Bless our veterans on this day set aside for honoring those who gave their lives so America could be free. Unfortunately many also gave their lives to allow politicians to deprive them of being treated for health related issues. It is bad enough to deprive younger veterans to get adequate healthcare but letting the older ones die to make government records look better is murder.
This is the most gruesome action by a government in my lifetime. I am a veteran, 83+ years old and fed up with our entire government. I am on Medicare that is obviously better than what the Veterans Administration (VA) would provide me if I had to use their services. Yes, I have to pay for my Medicare healthcare that most young and uninformed Americans think is also free. Healthcare coverage premiums for myself and my wife exceed $700 a month. I hope all Americans will be happy that Obamacare has introduced new requirements that will allow a “Death Panel” to decide when to let old people like me die instead of God or a doctor.
An illegal alien or any American citizen on Medicaid can go to a local emergency room, receive their healthcare treatment and taxpayers pick up the tab. Veterans who must depend on the VA for healthcare have to travel to a VA facility to see a doctor to just get a prescription. If they use an emergency room they have to pay for the service.
For those who live in a city with VA facilities this is no different than Americans with insurance or on Medicare. For illegals and those on Medicaid we also provide free cell phones and supplemental help with local travel. This is not true for veterans who live in rural areas.
I live some 7.5 miles from Hemphill Texas. Hemphill has some 1100+ citizens and is the County Seat of Sabine County. Sabine County has about 10,500 citizens, covers some 600 square miles and over 30% of the people are over 62 and retired.
Using this area as an example, the closest VA clinic is located in Lufkin Texas. The closest VA Hospital that serves veterans is located in Houston Texas. Sabine County probably has more veterans as a percentage of total population than 90% of all 254 counties in Texas.
If a local veteran has need to see a doctor he has to call and get an appointment. This requires a round trip of from 90 to 165 miles. If he requires hospitalization they can drive directly to Houston that would average about 420 miles. If it is a non-emergency he can travel to Lufkin and catch a VA shuttle bus that makes daily trips.
I pray that the VA fiasco currently in the news will result in Congressional action to put those who created this veterans death panel in prison for the rest of their lives.
President Obama is waiting on a report of some kind to act. It’s strange that he and John Kerry could cut all military aid to Thailand and denounce a military coup in less than a day after the military took over control of the government. Well it does let the biased media have ammunition to move the VA issues to page 16 rather than the front page of the paper.
I am researching this to write an article comparing what has happened in Thailand to what has happened in the USA. So far it appears to indicate that need for a military coup in America would be a much greater a blessing for the people than what is happening in Washington D.C. C Brewer
A Conservative View 