The following was adapted from an op-ed that appeared in the March 18 issue of The Wall Street Journal.

By National Commander David K. Rehbein

"If you were injured in Iraq or Afghanistan and you have not paid your co-pay, please press 1. If you were injured during military training and you have not yet reached your deductible, please press 2. If your family has reached its maximum insurance benefit, please call back after you have purchased additional coverage. Thank you for your service."

Before I met with President Obama in the White House on March 16, I would have thought a phone call like what I describe above would be unimaginable. Now it is all too possible.

President Obama made clear during our discussion that he intends to force private insurance companies to pay for the treatment of military veterans with service-connected disabilities. This plan is as unfair as it is unnecessary. According to the U.S. Constitution, it is the president and Congress who send troops in harm's way, not the CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield.

As head of the nation's largest veterans organization, I was startled by this radical shift of position the president has taken. In October, candidate Obama listed several proposals he had for VA and none of them included billing veterans' insurance providers. In fact, when asked how he would improve the funding formula for VA's health care system, then-Sen. Obama told The American Legion Magazine, "It starts with the president saying that if I'm budgeting for war, then I am also budgeting for VA. If I've got a half-a-trillion-dollar Pentagon budget, then I'd better make sure that I make some of those billions of dollars available to care for the soldiers once they come home. It should be a non-negotiable proposition that people are receiving the services that they need. This is the reason I joined the Veterans Affairs Committee - because I believe deeply in that principle."

President Obama has mentioned that he has read "Team of Rivals," a book about the presidency of another man from Illinois that Obama clearly admires. During his second inaugural address, President Lincoln said, "Let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."

By abandoning its responsibilities to the heroic men and women who answered our nation's call, the federal government is breaking Lincoln's sacred promise. Moreover, it is unnecessary.

The 2.6 million member American Legion has long advocated for Medicare to reimburse VA for its treatment of Medicare-eligible veterans. Veterans pay into the Medicare-system, yet they are unable to use their benefits in the VA health system, which was created specifically for them. The Indian Health Service is successfully billing and collecting needed revenue for both Medicare and Medicaid. We also believe that direct billing between two federal agencies will reduce the opportunities for waste, fraud and abuse that tend to occur when for-profit corporations enter the mix.

Perhaps nobody would be hit harder by the Obama administration's proposal than the thousands of veterans who own small businesses. Not only will their private insurance premiums be drastically elevated to cover service-connected disabilities, but many will be forced to cut staff as a result. The unemployment rate for veterans may climb even higher, as businesses avoid hiring these heroes for fear of the impact they would have on insurance rates.

Our military veterans have already served this country. They have given us their blood, sweat and devotion. Under President Obama's proposal, the most severely wounded veterans could easily exceed their maximum insurance benefit, leaving their family without any additional coverage. This is hardly the thanks of a grateful nation.