Fight looms on military, VA health care taxes - Military News | News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World - Military Times

Fight looms on military, VA health care taxes

A handful of lawmakers are gearing up for a fight to largely exempt military and veterans benefits from the broader health care reform movement.

Two issues are involved. One has to do with whether military and veterans benefits could be taxed in the same fashion as employer-provided health benefits, a proposal included in the 1,018-page health care bill being taken up by the House Education and Labor Committee.

A second question involves potential federally imposed limits on the types and cost of care covered by health insurance, limits that could apply to both direct care from military hospitals and clinics and from the Tricare health plan, as well as to direct care from the veterans health care system.

Republican aides, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said they expect amendments will be offered to protect the military and veterans health plans. Exactly who will offer the amendments and what those amendments might say has not been determined.

This will pose a problem for Democrats, who fear that allowing any exemptions from the overall health reform effort opens the door for other changes that could undermine the legislation

“We believe that any health reform legislation must be fully paid for. However, it is untenable to put these costs on the backs of the men and women who are serving their country in the Armed Forces,” said Rep. Glenn Nye, D-Va., one of the lawmakers trying to round up support to prevent the military and veterans benefits from being taxed.

“Our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are key components of our economic engine who lend their unique talents and experiences to drive this nation forward,” Nye wrote in a letter to the education and labor committee. “A proposal to tax their health benefits could harm them and their families in unintended, extremely serious ways, jeopardizing their families’ welfare and even negatively affecting their employment opportunities.”