U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, came to the defense of House challenger Bill Flores, R-Bryan, saying he shares Flores’ vision of creating a private option for veterans who receive government-subsidized health care benefits.

In a 30-second TV spot that began airing in Waco and Bryan-College Station on Monday, McCain said, “Bill’s ideas to improve veterans’ health care are exactly the same as mine.”

McCain also accused U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, a fierce critic of Flores’ plan, of playing fast and loose with “the facts.”

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., defended U.S. House candidate Bill Flores in a TV ad.
AP Photo

In a news release accompanying the ad, the Flores campaign objected to Edwards’ characterization of the plan as a “privatization.”

In recent weeks, Flores also has rejected Edwards’ criticism that his plan would hurt the VA system.

“I deeply respect Sen. McCain, but on the issue of privatizing VA health care, Bill Flores is on the wrong side of veterans in our district and on the wrong side of America’s largest, most respected veterans’ organizations,” Edwards said in response to the ad.

Edwards has been hammering Flores for more than a month about a comment the retired Bryan businessman made at a January GOP primary debate.

“The government usually doesn’t do some things very well that involve bureaucracies, so (veterans) need to go into the private system,” Flores said at the time.

When Edwards first brought up the debate remarks in August, Flores clarified his position. Flores said he endorses a private option, which would make medical care more convenient for veterans who live far from a VA hospital.

His campaign’s Monday news release raised the same point: “If a veteran living in Madisonville needs a checkup, should he have to drive to Waco or Houston to receive VA health care?”

Edwards has noted veterans advocacy organizations’ staunch opposition to Flores’ plan and past legislative efforts to create a private health care option for veterans.

Disabled American Veterans and Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. were among eight groups to sign a 2007 letter stating such legislation would result in a “deterioration in quality of care” for VA health care facilities.

Many of the groups also panned a 2008 McCain campaign proposal to create a “Veterans’ Care Access Card” that low-income and war-wounded veterans could use to get private-sector health care.

Advertising wars

Edwards’ campaign ramped up its criticism of Flores’ veterans care proposal last week with two ads, one featuring retired Army Gen. Paul Funk, a former Fort Hood commander.

Funk accused Flores of lying about the impact his proposal would have, saying, “I’ve seen Bill Flores’ plan to privatize VA health care, and it would hurt our nation’s veterans badly.”

Enter McCain, a Vietnam War vet, who for years has backed a private option for veterans and stressed that such an option does not amount to “privatization,” a politically charged term.

In the new Flores ad, McCain referenced Flores’ big private donations to wounded veterans programs and the Waco VA. He also called Edwards less than honest in his criticism of Flores.

“The facts are stubborn things,” the senator said.

Joe Violante, legislative director for Disabled Veterans of America, took exception with McCain’s and Flores’ comments.

“They can say it’s not privatization, but it is,” Violante said, noting that the VA already has the authority to contract out medical care to private doctors or hospitals in situations when the system can’t adequately care for a veterans health care needs.

Predicting a gloomy outcome if a private option is implemented, Violante said “it would cost the VA and taxpayers more money” because of the higher average cost of care in the for-profit sector.

As a result, he argued, the VA would be left with limited resources and forced to “ration” care and eventually shutter facilities.

“It may be appealing on the surface, but it erodes the services the VA can provide, because the VA needs that critical mass of patients,” he added.

On the campaign trail in 2008, McCain rejected criticisms of a private-option plan and said the choice would relieve VA facilities that had become, or would soon become, overburdened.

His plan, he said, would reduce lines at VA hospitals and allow for VA doctors to spend more time healing combat wounds and illnesses. Veterans, McCain reasoned in one campaign address, could move basic treatment out of the VA system, freeing up the system to focus on combat-related wounds and post-traumatic stress syndrome.

mshapiro@wacotrib.com

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