WASHINGTON   –  U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (MO-08) today said she would oppose any administration effort to include “third-party collections” from private insurers for the treatment or care of U.S. veterans for service-related injuries.

“It is certainly not a part of the promise we make to Americans who bravely defend our nation that they should cover their own costs of medical care for service-connected injuries and conditions.  Our aim ought to be improving the quality and availability of this kind of treatment, not making it more expensive,” Emerson said.  “Furthermore, this proposal poses a special hardship in a rural congressional district where a veteran is more likely to need medical care from a specialist in their own community rather than going a hundred miles or more to the nearest VA facility.”

The administration has not formally released the FY 2010 budget, but it is acknowledged to contain $540 million in revenue from shifting the costs of service-connected care for veterans from the VA to the veterans’ private insurers.  The plan was confirmed by Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki.

“I completely understand the objections of veterans groups to this idea.  What I cannot comprehend is how the administration doesn’t have room in a $3.6 trillion budget to maintain our funding levels for the service-connected care of U.S. veterans,” Emerson said. 

In the U.S. House of Representatives, Emerson has sponsored Wounded Warrior legislation to raise the standard of care for U.S. servicemembers and veterans as well as fought for recognition of mental health condition, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and exposure to Agent Orange as service-connected injuries.

“I think we have passed very good legislation in the last several years to raise the quality of care and improve treatment both for veterans and for injured members of the armed services,” Emerson said.  “This proposal undoes much of that progress by shifting the cost of these improvements from the government to the veteran.  I think we owe our veterans the very best care that can be provided – it’s our duty as we honor them for their service.”