Veteran’s Healthcare
VETERAN’S HEALTH CARE
My proposal to you to table the bill in the senate for debate stems from the power vested in the laws of the United States. If an individual or group seeks to make significant changes in the community, the law is among the best tools because it often takes effect uniformly in the whole country. In spite of the variations that state governments may make to the law to suit the regional needs, they cannot deviate from the law implemented by the federal government through the constitution of the United States. If the bill passes all the stages and becomes a law enshrined in the constitution, it will for a permanent guiding principle that the government cannot deviate from in the course of allocation. In the enactment of the bill, the proposition is to state an average amount of budgetary allocation below which the government cannot fail to allocate to the veterans’ health care. Setting a budgetary floor for the allocation of funds means that there will always be adequate resources to meet the health needs of the veterans regardless. Moreover, it is also important to state that the funds are subject to an increment based on the number of casualties recorded within the country. Incremental allocation depends on the priorities and availability of resources in the federal government, and it will allocate the incremental allocation as and when it deems fit.
The legal course of action is the best approach to better the availability of healthcare to the rising number of veterans in the country. In fact, the approach is good because it can work well with other healthcare provisions such as the affordable care act. The affordable care is also a law regarding healthcare aimed at expanding to health care by individuals, control the costs incurred to receive healthcare by an individual, and improve the care quality and overall coordination of the services offered. The act encompasses all people within the population, and it is not specific to veterans alone. However, some of the clauses within the act refer to the provision of healthcare to veterans. For instance, there is a clause stating categorically that the health law does not alter the benefits accruing to the veterans or change the out-of-pocket costs incurred by veterans. Their initial spending on medical care will remain relatively constant. On the contrary, it may not be a reality because the rising pressure on health resources may force the government to order veterans t spend more from their pockets. Therefore, this is where the new law comes in handy to avail additional resources, which will help to eliminate the burden from the pockets of the needy veterans.
First, increasing the bill seeking to raise the amount of money allocated to veteran health care will lead to reduced levels of dependency in the United States. Most societies have a wrong notion that the dependency stems from old age alone. However, the effects of taking part in a war may lead to permanent injuries and incapacitation of an individual such that they cannot work normally and have a source of livelihood. As such, they depend on their relatives to take care of their economic and social needs. The economic burden becomes a cyclical chain of events. As the relatives and close friends struggle to take care of the needs of the dependent, their purchasing power declines because the money they would spend on commodities goes to the medical needs of the dependent. In the end, the society becomes poorer because of the diminishing ability to save. Instead of accumulating savings within the economy, the money accrues to meeting the needs of people they have close affiliations with because they cannot let them suffer. In the end, there will be reduced investment in the US economy, and the private sector will be highly dormant because people lack the capital resources to utilize the available investment opportunities in the economy.
Furthermore, it is the duty of the government to care for its employees. Veterans are people who put their lives and bodies on the line for the sake of a national goal initiated and advocated by the government. On that note, the government should take a keen interest in their welfare both during and after their military assignments in their line of work. Even in the contemporary corporate world, traditional organizational practices give priority to the health of the employees. The government can only show an element of concern and responsibility of it caters for the health needs of the veterans at a time when they need it the most. Offering such services will also encourage those willing to work in the country’s military that it is not just a matter of hardship and suffering. At least, good health benefits can be a good incentive to boost their confidence in the role the government plays in the protection of employee benefits. Lastly, veterans play an important role in promoting the defense or security of the country. Protecting the American borders from outside is equally important as doing it from within the country. Therefore, good health benefits are an essential reward for the heroes of the nation who protect it from the potential attacks of its enemies.
Contrary to my beliefs, there are those who assert that the government does not need to further its efforts in improving the veterans’ health care. They say that the additional resources suggested in the proposed new law should be allocated to other sectors of the country because there are more important needs that the health of the veterans. In addition, they also counter argue that the rate of dependency in the country does not have any connection with the nature of healthcare availed to the veterans. They also add that improving the healthcare benefits of the veteran does not have a direct effect on the health of the US economy.
On the contrary, I do not agree with these opposing viewpoints. It is important for the government to increase resource allocation to healthcare fir veterans because they are growing in number. The growth has an implication of a possible strain on the existing resources if there is no additional allocation. Health is an equally important sector of the country as the other suggested sectors. If the government fails to improve the health care provided to the veterans, it will have to deal with a rising number of cases of terminal illnesses because of the nature of injuries and mental effects of war. Both ways, there is an implication of cost and improving the healthcare is a good preventive measure. Moreover, availing resources to incapacitated veterans reduces the number of dependents within the economy of the US.
In conclusion, veterans play an important role in the country. They perform duties that many would not be willing to undertake, and it is only courteous to reward them accordingly. Guaranteeing their good health after a demanding work life in the service of the nation is an appropriate reward. However, it cannot be accomplished by mere verbal promises as it must be laid down in the legal provisions of the country. The provisions are not subject to manipulation; an important element to guarantee the implementation of the safety and good health of the veterans. The long-term benefits accrue to the positive development of the United States in the end.
Bibliography
Beder, Joan. Advances in Social Work Practice with the Military. New York: Routledge, 2012.
Kantor, Martin. Uncle Sam's Shame: Inside Our Broken Veterans Administration. Westport, Conn: Praeger Security International, 2008.
Ortiz, Stephen R., and Suzanne Mettler. Veterans' Policies, Veterans' Politics: New Perspectives on Veterans in the Modern United States. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2012.
Sarason, Seymour Bernard. Centers for Ending: The Coming Crisis in the Care of Aged People. New York: Springer, 2011.
