Nearly 1.7 million military veterans have no health insurance or access to government hospitals and clinics for veterans, according to a report Tuesday from a doctors' group that favors federally financed health care. [AP, 10/19/04]

The number of uninsured veterans jumped by 235,000 since 2000, meaning they are losing health insurance at a faster rate than the general population, said Physicians for a National Health Program, which advocates a universal national health insurance program. [AP, 10/19/04]

“We're sending men and women off to war and yet the people who fought previous wars can't get the basic things they need to go on with their lives afterward," said Dr. David Himmelstein, a Harvard Medical School professor and an author of the study. [AP, 10/19/04]

The report traced some of the increase to the Bush administration's decision last year to suspend health care services for higher-income veterans. [AP, 10/19/04]

The study cites that “unaffordable co-payments” and a “lack of facilities in their communities” prevented many veterans from receiving care. [PNHP Study, 10/19/04]

Bush No Friend to Veterans: Co-Payments Designed to drive vets from the VA: According to the Administration’s own figures, raising fees will drive about 200,000 veterans out of the system and discourage another 1 million veterans from enrolling.”  [Department of Veterans Affairs, 9/03] 

Bush Failed to Fully Fund Veterans Health Care: Bush's 2005 budget falls more than $2.6 billion short of the amount needed to fully fund quality veterans' health care, according to The Independent Budget, an annual collective assessment by four veterans’ service organizations of the funding levels and policy changes needed at VA. [AMVETS Release, 2/3/04; VFW Release, 2/2/04] 

Bush Administration Calls for Total Closure of Three Veterans Hospitals, Partial Closure of Eight Others:  In May 2004, the Administration decided to push for the closure of hospitals in Brecksville, OH; Gulfport, MS; and, Highland Drive, PA. Eight VA hospitals will be partially closed. In most cases, inpatient care will move to larger hospitals, leaving behind an outpatient clinic or long-term-care beds. The Administration is planning partial closures in Knoxville, IA; Canandaigua, NY; Livermore, CA; Montrose, NY; Kerrville, TX; Saginaw, MI; Ft. Wayne, IN; and Butler, PA. In 2003, the Bush Administration proposed the closure of seven hospitals in its efforts to “restructure” the Department of Veterans Affairs. [USA Today, 5/7/04; Associated Press, 8/4/03, 10/28/03, 12/16/03]

Spending on Prescription Drugs Has More than Doubled Over Five Years:  The amount spent on prescription drugs has more than doubled over the past five years, from $87 billion in 1998 to $184 billion in 2003. Americans are spending more on prescription drugs today than ever before.  [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, National Health Expenditure Projections, February, 2004]

Bush Tried to Impose New Costs on Middle-Income Vets: Bush’s 2005 budget will institute a new annual $250 enrollment fee and an increase in prescription drug co-pays from $7 to $15 for middle-income veterans. In 2003, The Bush Administration publicly opposed Senate efforts to block increases in health care costs for veterans, including a new $250 annual enrollment fee for VA medical care, a proposed increase in pharmaceutical co-pays, and the Senate's addition of $1.3 billion in emergency funding for medical benefits. And in December 2001, Bush more than tripled the prescription co-payments for nonservice-connected veterans from $2 to $7. [CQ, 2/2/04; Statement of Administrative Policy, 11/12/03; The Times Leader, 10/9/03]

Bush Opposed Fixing The Disabled Veterans Tax: Secretary Donald Rumsfeld recommended that Bush veto the defense appropriations bill if it contained a fix to the concurrent receipt problem that penalizes military retirees who also receive disability assistance.  The concurrent receipt ban stops a veteran who receives disability compensation from also receiving military retirement pay, effectively punishing disabled military retirees. Rumsfeld wrote that if the bill, “authorizes concurrent receipt of military retirement pay and veterans’ disability compensation benefits, or expands TRICARE, then I would join other senior advisors to the President in recommending that he veto the bill.”  [Rumsfeld Letter to Rep. Duncan Hunter, 7/8/03]

Future Vets Cuts Planned: Recently a leaked OMB memo showed that the Bush Administration plans to cut veterans funding after the election.  The secret memo showed that the VA should expect $900 million in cuts in FY2006.