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Democrats reject health care fees for vets

Democrats who control the House and Senate veterans’ affairs committees have rejected the Bush administration’s call for new enrollment fees and higher drug co-payments for some veterans and have proposed bigger budgets for health care.

In the Senate, Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, the veterans’ committee chairman, and his fellow Democrats are asking for a $2.9 billion increase over the Bush budget proposal for the Department of Veterans Affairs, specifically for medical care.

The Bush administration had requested $39.4 billion for the VA for nonbenefits items, including $34.6 billion for health care-related costs.

“We believe that this is the amount necessary to treat all eligible veterans and maintain the quality of VA medical services through the upcoming fiscal year,” Akaka said in a statement.

Specifically, Democrats and Sen. Bernard Sanders, I-Vermont, who also serves on the Senate committee, have asked for an additional $300 million for treatment of traumatic brain injuries, $357 million specifically for the health care of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, and $693 million more for mental health programs

In the House, Bob Filner, D-Calif., the veterans’ committee chairman, and his Democratic colleagues are recommending a $1.3 billion increase in the 2008 veterans’ health care budget, and also are asking for $5 billion for veterans’ programs to be put into the 2007 wartime supplemental funding bill.

Filner said in an interview that the $3 billion would be to pay for a post-traumatic stress disorder initiative, $1 billion would be for traumatic brain injury and polytrauma care, $500 million would be to try to eliminate, “once and for all,” the backlog of pending benefits claims and $500 million would be to pay for GI Bill improvements.

House Democratic leaders have not signed off on putting $5 billion for veterans in the supplemental appropriations bill, but in a March 1 letter, Filner told them this should be a priority.

“I believe that a storm is brewing across the country, a storm of discontent regarding our treatment of veterans, and we must act now and act quickly,” Filner wrote.

In an interview, Filner said his appeal is simple: “If we can fund the war, we must fund the warriors.”

Democrats on both committees have rejected Bush administration proposals to increase out-of-pocket costs for priority seven and eight veterans, those with moderate incomes who do not have service-connected disabilities. One rejected proposal would have increased the current $8 charge for prescription drugs to $15. A second proposal involved charging enrollment fees of as high as $750 a year, based on family income.

The funding requests are being made in letters to the House and Senate budget committees, which are required to draw up an overall federal spending plan. The budget committees are supposed to prepare budget plans for approval by April 15, although that deadline is rarely met.

Filner said he knows that the $1.3 billion increase in medical care spending is less than the amount sought by veterans’ service organizations, but Democratic leaders have stressed the need to hold down costs. The $5 billion in supplemental spending would make up for a reduced 2008 budget, he said.

It was not just Democrats who opposed the fees and who want more money for veterans. Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind., the former House veterans’ committee chairman and now ranking Republican, also rejected the fee increases in his budget recommendations.

Buyer and fellow Republicans on the committee recommended a $2.9 billion increase in administration’s VA budget plan, including $1.5 billion to improve the GI Bill for National Guard and Reserve members.

In a statement, Buyer said the increases are aimed at what he sees as “enduring priorities” — caring for disabled veterans, the indigent, providing a seamless transition to civilian life, and giving veterans “every opportunity to live full, healthy lives.”

That is an area where they all seem to agree. Akaka said, “It is important for both Congress and the administration to realize that meeting the needs of our veterans is an ongoing cost of war. Our nations’ veterans deserve timely benefits and quality medical care. We can provide no less.”

A budget letter from Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, the former chairman and now ranking minority party member on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs committee, was not available for comment, but Craig has been one of the few lawmakers to support the idea of charging fees — which he refers to as premiums — and he is expected to endorse the administration’s proposal for enrollment fees.