Army vet billed $3,000 for war wounds, Obama's plan in action

It is happening everyday to Vietnam vets. They are still the lost vets as well as the Korean vets. These are the mass homeless vets. At least most of the folks coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan had jobs and insurance when they left and still do when they get home. The Vietnam vets were kids with no education and just lost it and are still lost. Some of it is their own fault, but some of it isn't. Someone needs to fight for all Vets! They all gave for this country and still are giving. And will continue to do so as long as there are people out there destroying other people. Shalom~Adoniah

I do my best to not be negative about any president until he has been on the job for at least a year, but this takes the cake. We ask these men and women to fight knowing that they may not come home and then when they do make it home, President Obama wants them to pay the medical bills that the United States caused the veteran to have. This is pure BS. He is taking money from the people who need and work for it and giving it to multimillion and billion dollar corporations that do not even care about their employees. I think it is horrible and I thank God that my friend that came home last month after fighting since almost the beginning has only his mind to heal.

I think there's a little bit of a misconception here about veterans, insurance and the V.A. From what you posted, I'm assuming that Erik went outside of the V.A. for this medical care. I can't tell from the information you provided whether he was already rated as disabled but it sounds to me that there wasn't a reason for him to be prior to the amputation. So, misconception #1 is that all veterans are automatically entitled to free medical care. This is just not true and never has been. There are two main classifications of disabilities at the V.A., service connected and non-service connected. There is a ratings system for each class from 0% to 100%. My husband is 100% service connected. His father was 20% service connected. We have a friend who is 50% non-service connected. MY husband's father also had private insurance and the V.A. was required to bill his insurance company for services rendered at their facility, while they covered a percentage based on that 20% disability. Non-service connected injuries and illnesses are also "share of cost" with private insurance based on the percentage of the disability. Misconception #2 is that the V.A. should pay regardless of where you receive your medical care. They will cover emergency treatments at outside facilities but are not required to pay for a veteran's choice to seek treatment elsewhere, and especially if that veteran has private insurance. When I took my husband outside of the V.A. medical system for his carotid artery problems (because they wanted to wait 6 months to recheck and we didn't), we used the private insurance I had through my job. Because of that decision *our* insurance was the primary and the V.A. was the secondary. We were required to pay all copays but the V.A. did pick up a percentage. Keep in mind that we're talking about a 100% totally and permanently service connected disabled vet. If my husband had had the surgery at the V.A. Medical Center it would not have cost us a dime. I do agree that every man and woman who serves this country should be taken care of for any injury or illness that they received while in the service, however, compassion needs to be combined with common sense. If you broke your toe in combat you're not nearly as disabled as someone who came home missing a limb. If you're able to work, have private insurance and choose to use that, the V.A. should be allowed to determine the percentage it will contribute towards the cost of your care based on your disability rating. What Sen. Brown most likely did was to speed up the process of having Erik's disability rated by the V.A. He was most likely rated at 100% service connected due to the amputation, which entitles him to have all of his medical expenses covered. If Erik had been a homeless veteran, by the way, he would have been treated for free at a V.A. Medical Center, just as Erik would have been had he gone there.

Wow, a CNN reporter did this? He's a rarity! Glad he helped out the Iraqi vet. Nice to know somebody over at CNN has a heart.