Three Weeks Until 21% Medicare/TRICARE Cut

Last week's report that H.J. Res. 45 (passed by the Senate last week and the House this week) would fix the 21% cut in Medicare and TRICARE payments to doctors (now scheduled for March 1, 2010) proved premature.

While it would let Congress reverse that huge cut without requiring specific cost offsets, separate legislation is still needed to make the fix. And only three weeks remain before the cuts kick in.

So it's more important than ever to (again) urge your legislators to act immediately to stop the 21% cut, and keep thousands more doctors from dropping military TRICARE and Medicare patients.

Contact your representative: Link

OP-ED: WHAT VETERANS NEED FROM THE PRESIDENT

Commentary from Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

NOTE from Larry Scott, VA Watchdog dot Org ... For more about IAVA, use our search engine ... here ... >A href=http://www.yourvabenefits.org/sessearch.php?q=iava&op=and>Link

------------------------- What vets need from the prez

By PAUL RIECKHOFF

At an Allentown, Pa., town-hall meeting last October, President Obama met Iraq veteran and student Leonard Martin, who said that he couldn't get through to the VA hot line to ask a question about the new GI Bill -- and asked the president to "call them up" to fix the problem.Complete story

Pentagon Settles PTSD Lawsuit

The Government, in order to stay a final ruling, negotiated a deal in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims - the result will provide disability retired pay and family TRICARE coverage, at least temporarily, for thousands of veterans previously separated from service after suffering PTSD. Complete story

President Signs Veterans' Emergency Care Fairness Act of 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI) today praised President Barack Obama's signing of the Veterans' Emergency Care Fairness Act of 2009. Complete story

The Real History of the Army Combat Action Badge

The little known and seldom told story that few even in the Army ranks know about 7th Infantry Division CIB Style Bayonet Badge is a rarely seen badge designed and produced "unofficially" as the "Order of the Bayonet" for 7th Infantry Division Troops while on duty in Korea during the Cold War. Standards for the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) were stringent, and many who pulled duty along the DMZ (and were regularly under fire) did not qualify according to Army Regulations at the time for the CIB. The 7th ID created its own unofficial infantry badge featuring a bayonet and division patch in the middle of a wreath. This badge became the template for the current Army Combat Action Badge; however, ironically, the criteria for the new badge did not provide retroactive eligiblity for those Cold War veterans of Korea who engaged in hostile fire with the enemy. Link

VETS' GROUPS THINK BUDGET IS NOT "JUST RIGHT" AS VA DECLARED, WANT MORE...

The Independent Budget wants more money for care and says the projected collections figure is off by over $3 billion.

by Larry Scott, VA Watchdog dot Org

When the VA first started touting their huge fiscal year 2011 budget a few days ago, I asked: "But, is it enough?" VA has a long and sad history of messing up the budget process ... by not asking for enough funding ... and for assuming too much income from collections.

Now, the Independent Budget Link (made up of a number of Veterans' Service Organizations) has come up with the same thoughts for the VA budget.

Also, here is a link to an article from the Military Times group ... Link