The spotlight shining on the Walter Reed fiasco is drawing attention to an old problem: The disintegration of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA is falling apart; multiple data leaks, a backlog of disability claims in the 600,000 ballpark (and growing), and care regarded by many as substandard. It's shameful.
However, there is a simple solution. It could be the key Democrats are looking for to win public support for a single-payer health care system.
The solution is simple: If a soldier completes his or her service with an honorable discharge, they are automatically entitled to full coverage. For life. No conditions. They would not have to be disabled or injured and they would not have to demonstrate a need for continuing care.
It would not be cheap, but it is the right thing to do. The argument is clear, simple to articulate, and irrefutable. If you risk your life for America, then America ought to be there for you. No exceptions, no conditions, no weasel words. No adjudication hearings, no restrictions. If you get sick or hurt, America has your back.
If you are too poor or too badly hurt to obtain healthcare for your family, America will protect them, too, for as long as it takes for you to get your affairs in order. If you die in the service of your country, then America will protect your family. If you are killed while serving, America will not quibble about the circumstances when it comes to your family. If you choke on a sandwich during training or go out in a blaze of glory and posthumous honors, your family will never want for care.
Veterans should be covered no matter where they choose to seek treatment. There is no reason to force them to use special VA facilities -- especially if those facilities are substandard. A veteran should be able to walk into any accredited hospital, clinic or practice and receive full coverage. It should not matter what hospital they walk into, or even what country that hospital is in.
How does this relate to creating a single payer system? Easy. Once the system is up and running, let non-veterans check a little box on their IRS forms and buy into the program.
Caring for veterans is the key to the health care puzzle. It's a clear moral issue that unites the right, center and left. Championing this issue would give Democrats a solid initiative where the policy solution and the ethical solution are unambiguous, simple, and universal. Once in place, the veterans' program could be the nucleus for something of even greater moral urgency; universal coverage.