You all may not have known this, but military families do not have free dental and vision care. For dental, we pay into a cost-share program with limited benefits and a $1,200 yearly cap. For vision, we get one yearly eye exam. Many military families end up taking out emergency loans to cover their dental expenses (NON-COSMETIC dental expenses).
And consider this personal experience:
This year my daughter, age 4, was diagnosed as "legally blind." Tricare paid for one visit to the eye doctor. She has required two follow up appointments this year that I must pay for out of pocket. In addition, I must pay for lenses and frames. Because her vision is so poor, we have had to "ease" her into her full prescription. With two lens changes this year, and more on the way, this has become very expensive for my family. It is sad that if my daughter's medical issues were with any other part of her body, that she would have coverage. But because it is with her eyes, we have to pay for it ourselves. Military families deserve better vision coverage than the single eye exam per year offered now.
I am currently drafting a proposal advocating for the expansion of these benefits that I will be presenting to elected officials at the end of the month (with the help and support of Veterans and Military Families for Progress). In the meantime, I have created a petition that people can sign to show their support.
Please go to: http://www.militaryspousesforchange.... and sign up if you support the bill.
If you could post a bulletin elsewhere and ask others to sign the petition, that would be wonderful!
(I am also really curious to see how much support can be generated through this kind of "netrooting.")
Please spread the word!