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Thursday, February 15, 2001 Story last updated at 10:48 p.m. on Wednesday, February 14, 2001 Ex-colonel battles to get health care for 2.5 million By Lindsay Tozer Times-Union staff writer Five years after first taking the government to task for what he called a broken promise, George "Bud" Day is inching closer to satisfaction. The Medal of Honor recipient and Florida lawyer has long argued that military retirees were shortchanged by the government through the denial of promised free health care. Although Congress nixed the guaranteed health-care benefits for military retirees upon their 65th birthday back in 1956, Day's contention was those who enlisted prior to that year should be taken care of. In 1996, Day sued the federal government to restore lifetime medical benefits and reimburse any Medicare charges of those retirees who enlisted before June 7, 1956. The suit was eventually whittled down by the courts to only original plaintiffs -- two retired Air Force officers. Last week, a U.S. Court of Appeals panel in Washington ruled in favor of the two men, concluding the officers are entitled to damages from Congress' and the Pentagon's refusal to provide free lifetime medical care. Day is seeking class-action status of the decision, a move that could reopen the door for as many as 2.5 million retirees and their dependents to receive such damages. At a payout of up to $10,000 per plaintiff, the government could face up to $25 billion in refunds. "I'm just elated," the retired Air Force colonel said yesterday from his Fort Walton Beach law office. "Reimbursing the money our people have been made to pay for Medicare is really what it's been about since the beginning." The 75-year-old Day -- who once shared his prison cell in Vietnam with John McCain and who stands as the most decorated military officer since Douglas MacArthur -- dismisses the idea that his name attached to the case had anything to do with its success. "It is just such a simple case of breach of contract," he said matter of factly. The appeals court ordered a federal district judge in Pensacola, who had initially dismissed the case in 1998, to revisit it and help settle the damages. "The main battle is won," Day said. "What we need to do now is have these people identified and taken care of." While the case could be appealed to the full appeals court or the U.S. Supreme Court, the decorated Air Force retiree is confident the end is in sight. "Victory is an end," Day said. "It's on its way." http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/021501/met_5405212.html ************* [log in to unmask]