Obama Proposes Expansion of VA Health care

Author: Ian C. Langtree - View Credentials
Published: 26 Feb 2009

Table of Contents:
Synopsis - Overview - Related Content

Synopsis

President Barack Obama wants to expand health care access to veterans earning modest incomes.

Overview

President Barack Obama wants to expand health care access to veterans earning modest incomes.

The president's proposed budget for Veterans Affairs would provide health care to non-disabled veterans whose income exceeds about $30,000 annually. Obama has promised to provide VA health care to those blocked under the Bush administration.

By 2013, the administration says 500,000 veterans would be eligible.

Obama would provide extra funding for programs targeting homeless veterans and those in rural areas. And it would pay for upgrades to the VA's technology system to help eliminate the average six-month wait to have a disability claim processed.

Overall, it would increase the agency's discretionary spending by 10 percent to $53 billion.

More information will be provided as it comes to hand.

Author Credentials: Ian C. Langtree is a writer, editor, and the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Disabled World, which he established in 2004 as one of the longest-running independent resources for disability news and information. Over more than two decades, he has written and edited thousands of articles on disability rights, health, accessibility, and assistive technology. Drawing on a global perspective shaped by extensive travel and lived experience, Ian is a committed advocate of the Social Model of Disability, the framework developed by disabled activists in the 1970s that focuses on removing societal barriers rather than on individual impairments. His writing is grounded in that framework and in a lasting commitment to disability rights, accessibility, and social inclusion. To learn more about Ian's background, expertise, and accomplishments, visit his full biography.