The same day the House passed the Obama administration’s bill that would guarantee coverage to all Americans, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates took steps to reassure service members, military retirees and their families that their benefits would remain unchanged. Tricare, the military health plan, “already meets the [House] bill’s quality and minimum benefit standards,” Gates said March 22. But among one major military advocacy group, doubts persist. “The bill covers Tricare for Life but not the other Tricare programs that serve millions of beneficiaries,” the Veterans of Foreign Wars said in a statement. “It does not cover children suffering from spina bifida as a result of a parent’s exposure to Agent Orange; and it does not cover dependents, widows and orphans who are served by CHAMPVA, the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs.” Thomas J. Tradewell Sr., the VFW’s national commander, called the bill a betrayal of promises Obama made in a speech before at the organization’s national convention last year. “Now we have this flawed package that … blatantly omits any protections of the health care programs our nation provides to millions of veterans, military personnel, military retirees, and their families and survivors.”
