Bill Richardson's Plan for Veterans - the Heroes Health Card

This blog's stance is intentionally apolitical, meaning, we're not getting involved.  There's enough slant and bias in the world without adding to it -- our focus is intentionally on those who serve, and helping them get the care they deserve.  Full stop.  That said, it's always nice to hear anyone jumping on the same bandwagon about care for veterans.  Apparently, Bill Richardson, governor of New Mexico, who's running for president, has a platform that includes a few benefits for veterans that seem worth noting.  He calls it "Keeping Our Promise," which is really the general idea, and states, among other things:

"I believe that we, as a nation, have a lifelong duty to our veterans," Governor Richardson said. "As President, I will reduce federal income taxes by five percent for all veterans for the rest of their lives. Senator Jim Webb-- one of our nation's greatest veterans-- is exactly right on this issue, and I will fight for his proposal. I also will eliminate federal income taxes on all troops in their first year out of the military. It is our responsibility to ease the frequently difficult transition from military to civilian life.  President Bush cut taxes for our nation's wealthiest citizens. I will cut taxes for our nation's bravest citizens."

More to the point, or at least to our point, he suggests:

Richardson laid out his plan to ensure that veterans receive the best possible health care, beginning with mandatory funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

"When I am President, all veterans will be offered a Heroes Health Card," Richardson said. "If it is inconvenient for them to get to a VA hospital or clinic, you know where my plan would allow them to receive care? Wherever they need it. As we expand choice, we also must ensure that the VA system is the strongest it can be. I will guarantee full mandatory funding for the VA. No more year-to-year discretionary funding. No more political calculation. No more playing games with the health of our veterans.

"We also must recognize that not every injury can be treated with bandages and stents. Mental trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries also are battlefield injuries."

Given the fact that it seems like the VA cannot keep up with the demand for care it's experiencing, or at the level we would like, outsourcing doesn't seem such a bad idea.  I like the idea of veterans being able to receive competent, qualified, affordable care wherever is accessible to them, because "waiting for treatment" and "combat trauma/PTSD" really aren't a good combination.  Nor does it say how much we value veterans' service to make them wait to be seen, or treated in any substandard way.

Richardson apparently got sensitized to veterans issues because he serves in a state that has more  veterans per capita than pretty much anywhere else in the United States.  His office says that "one of his proudest accomplishments in New Mexico has been the purchase of a $400,000 insurance premium for every member of the state's National Guard, a step since taken by eighteen other states around the country."  Cool.  Much better to be an opinion leader than a follower.

Considering that it's apparently "National Military Family Appreciation Month" -- who knew -- it's also nice to see Richardson taking veterans' families into account.  Anyone who's watched the enormous sacrifice that goes on when a family member is wounded in action has to give that special honor.  Says Richardson:

"Often, spouses and parents are forced to leave their jobs in order to care for a wounded soldier," Richardson said. "As President, I will offer a comprehensive disability insurance policy to average $40,000. This policy would cover the necessary expenses when a spouse, parent, or other family member stays by the side of a wounded veteran during his or her recovery process. My plan also will offer up to a year of paid leave to provide financial stability for the families of recovering veterans."

Governor Richardson criticized President Bush's handling of the crisis at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and said that when he becomes President, he will be accountable for the treatment of our veterans.

"The conditions that the world saw at Walter Reed were an insult to our veterans and an embarrassment to our nation," Richardson said. "President Bush should have stood up and taken responsibility, but as in so many other cases, he did not. Instead, we saw another game of Washington musical chairs. When the music stopped, the President scrambled to find himself a comfortable place to sit, well out of the way. When I am President, I will not sit back and watch our veterans suffer."

There's not much more to read in Richardson's press release than what I've quoted here, but if you're interested in reading more about his plans, here are two links:

To read Governor Richardson's policy for Veterans and Military Families, click here.

To see Governor Richardson's "Heroes" ad on veterans, click here.