Edmond Sun Editorial: Military’s health-care plan leaves much to be desired

From my column in the Edmond Sun:

Mike Chionopoulos, Post Bench Briefs
Whether we believe or not that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction; or whether we support or oppose President Bush’s foreign policies, the one thing on which we all should agree is that those who go and do our bidding should be provided quality medical care for any injuries received in the performance of their duties — combat-related or not. The first thing the public needs to understand is, at one time, the military provided its own medical care. There were military hospitals, doctors, nurses and all things necessary to see that our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines were well cared for in the performance of their duties. That is no longer true today.

A trip to Tinker Air Force Base, which boasts of being one of the largest community employers, is host to the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center — one of only two nationwide facilities capable of performing unique aviation repair tasks — will reveal that active duty service members do not even have access to an emergency room. Rather, they are directed to use their Tri-Care medical insurance at the Midwest City Emergency Room. According to one military official, they are required to pay a portion of that bill.

Read the rest of the story here.

Coming Soon: American fighting men and women paying for their own health insurance?

It is true, and clearly one of the greatest abonimations in the history of our country. The fact that men and women in uniform, fighting for our freedom, are forced to pay for their own health insurance and you can be sure that their's aren't exactly the least expensive insurance rates in town either.

Soon, you'll find my comments and a few suggestions as to how we fix this problem.

Read the story in Friday's Edmond Sun!

Mike

It's a marathon, not a sprint...literally!

One of the reasons I enjoy running marathons is that it so very much resembles life itself. Our desires, our wants, our needs are all usually what we earn and reaching those benchmarks in life takes time.

Running marathons remind me of how important each and every moment of each and every day truly is in the grand scheme of things. I don't want to appear arrogant, but I live an incredibly blessed life and having the health and drive to run marathons is one of God's gifts that I hold very dear and certainly do not take for granted.

As I write this, I am currently in the Grand Cayman's having run the beautiful island. As you can see from the picture, you can see in my eyes the realization of just how blessed I truly am.

Merry Christmas, and check back often for more pictures!