Specter Empathizes with Vets on Rx Costs

PLAINS TWP. -- Along with stories of his father's service in the military and the injustice he experienced as a veteran, U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter on Monday delivered a promise to veterans at the local veterans hospital.

Specter, R-Philadelphia, a member and former chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, discussed prescription drug coverage with veterans at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

"I'm on six medications," said U.S. Army veteran Tony Kotlowski, 68, of Pittston Township. "I get three from here (at the medical center) and I get three from Wal-Mart because instead of paying $24 here, I only pay $10 there for a three-month supply. And I'm on Social Security, I'm retired. ... It's actually an insult to a veteran that they could get prescriptions cheaper in stores than they can here."

U.S. Army veteran Joe Dillon, 82, of Pittston, said he pays $4 each for six prescriptions at Wal-Mart while the veterans hospital charges $8 apiece.

Specter said the Department of Veterans Affairs some time ago established a uniform price of $8 per prescription for veterans, regardless of the cost to fill it.

Specter said a "key question" has arisen recently "as to why the VA charges more for some of its prescriptions than the veterans can get them commercially.

"Some of the commercial outfits, Wal-Mart specifically, have undertaken to sell them lower. And there is no reason why veterans should have to pay more to the VA than Wal-Mart or some commercial place. That is something which I will work to have changed," Specter said.

His promise was met with a round of thanks from a small group of veterans who joined him in the lobby after a hospital tour.

Specter said there is "an ongoing problem with the adequacy of care for our nation's veterans. It's a problem which goes back to the days when my father was in the military in World War I."

Specter said his father, Harry, was a Russian immigrant who came to the United States in 1911.

"When the Great War started, he was a Doughboy, went to France in the American Expeditionary Force. He was involved in one of the great battles in the Argonne Forest. ... He was wounded in action, had shrapnel in his legs till the day he died. The government promised the veterans of World War I a $500 bonus, and the government broke their promise, which the government does a lot," Specter said.

Specter told the veterans about a 1932 veterans march on the National Mall in Washington. He noted marchers on Washington today are treated "nicely."

"But on this particular day, President Hoover called out the Army. The chief of staff was a guy named Douglas MacArthur. And he had a major whose name was Eisenhower. You probably heard of him, too. Another major was a young cavalry officer with the name of Patton. There they were, MacArthur, Eisenhower, Patton ... this is a true story. You don't get many out of Washington," Specter said, his words bringing some laughter, which dissipated a moment later.

"So anyhow, they fired on veterans that day. They killed veterans on the Mall, one of the darkest days, one of the blackest days in American history. My father told me all of that. And I've been on my way to Washington ever since to get my father's bonus," Specter said, using the metaphor to explain his commitment to helping veterans.

Specter said young men and women are returning from Iraq with "brain injuries that are going to require a lifetime of care. There are a few of us in Washington that understand. And if you had been educated by my father, you would understand," he said.

Kotlowski said service at veterans hospitals has improved drastically because of the efforts of Specter and some others.

"We got hurt about the prescription drugs. But other than that, it's 100 percent. You can come here and get the best care. All I say is thank God for the VA and thank God for you," Kotlowski told Specter.

Steve Mocarsky, a Times leader staff writer, may be reached at 459-2005.