Why does he think veterans who served their country deserve any less?

I am against opening it to civilians. If that is your point here?

or not. They don't have to prove years later that it is service related. Scaling it up as a model (not to open up the VA to non-veterans) for future separate civilian universal health care. But the VA is so much more efficient than civilian health care for profit or even HMOs. One of my neighbors who has among other things severe hearing loss deemed probably from Vietnam and he received years ago advanced hearing aid like the precursor to the ear buds (like he can control his TV or phone, etc. right from his ear) long before I even knew things like that were on the market.

And of course, I cannot help but wonder how this would help the homeless veteran problem by the fact that if a veteran had some place he could immediately turn to if he needed help, it might prevent him losing his job, being on the street, etc. Many many years ago I worked in an outpatient clinic (not VA but before insurance companies controlled all civilian health care) but if we had a walk-in who came in and said he needed help and needed to see a doctor, we were not allowed to let them go without making sure a doctor saw them and briefly evaluated if he needed professional help.

Of course Veterans could opt out of the system if they didn't want to be treated in it, but I think all veterans with an honorable discharge would be eligible.

I like the concept, but I don't think the current environment (repukes and insurance companies) would ever go for it. I would add one caveat...make the time in service to six years...the same as congressional members to receive health care benefits.

I was one of those that my disability developed later in life. Thankfully my state has a very strong Veterans Affairs advocate program, but it still took 4 months to get into the VA Health Care system.

And yes, unfortunately in the current environment the insurance companies would howl about being cut out of so many paying customers. God, I hate health insurance companies and their bean counters in this country. When my daughter was a teenager her surgery was cancelled by the insurance company the day before it was scheduled because the bean counter on final evaluation before signing off on it decided the term "congenital" meant she was born with the condition and the surgery should be the responsibility of the previous health insurance company. It took a few weeks to straighten that out and reschedule the surgery. After all the years I had paid into that plan!! I think the only people who have glowing reports of their company's "great health plan" are those who have never needed it. Even some of the ones who have no "real" trouble have complaints because some payments got messed up and the time and angst needed to straighten things out.