re: #222 Gus

Loaded topic.

See this, Do veterans have a right to free health care for life?

….Clearly, these folks feel betrayed, so The Rumor Doctor set out to see if there is any truth to this belief that troops and veterans are entitled to free health care for life.

“The short answer is no,” said Peter Graves, a spokesman for the assistant defense secretary for health affairs. “Health care benefits for military members, retirees, and their families are, and have always been, as provided by law, and the law has never promised free health care for life.”

The law provides free medical care for servicemembers on active duty and their families, Graves said in an email.

Congressional Research Service, which provides analysis for Congress, issued a 2003 report that found veterans were not entitled to free medical care for life, even though they may have been promised exactly that by their recruiters.

Since 1956, veterans and their families can be treated at military medical facilities “subject to the availability of space and facilities and the capabilities of the medical and dental staff,” the report found.

“They have no right to military health care and the military services have total discretion in when and under what circumstances retirees and their dependents will get care in military treatment facilities,” the report said.

Several veterans have taken their claims to court, alleging that recruiters promised them free medical care, but one court ruled that such promises did not constitute a contract, the report said.