Congress closes medical 'loophole'
By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau
HILO, Hawai'i — When U.S. Marine 2nd Lt. Jesse Spiri discovered he had a brain tumor in 2001, the company providing health insurance to the U.S. military refused to pay for his care.
Advertiser library photo
The insurance company said Spiri wasn't covered because he had just been commissioned and had not yet reported to his first duty station.
Jim Spiri, seen here with sons Jesse, left, and Jimmy Spiri, in a 2001 photo, pushed for Congress to close a loophole in medical care for service members after Jesse's death from brain cancer.
Spiri's family was shocked, said Spiri's father, Wai-koloa resident Jim Spiri.
"We found ourselves being discharged 44 hours after brain surgery after the bean-counter accountants said, 'You're not covered,' " said the elder Spiri.
Jesse Spiri, 21, died of brain cancer in New Mexico on July 7, 2001. Jesse's outraged father then launched a lobbying campaign that culminated in the passage of the "Jesse Spiri Amendment" in Congress last week.
Spiri was commissioned a second lieutenant May 11, 2001, the day he graduated from Western New Mexico University in Silver City. He was diagnosed with cancer May 12.
U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., agreed that the Marine deserved treatment, and for two years pressed Congress to close the "loophole" that had denied him care.
The final version of the 2004 Defense Authorization Bill contains a provision with Spiri's name on it that ensures that military personnel on inactive-reserve status have access to military health benefits while awaiting active-duty status.
That makes the military responsible for the healthcare of its officers from the time they are commissioned, rather than the time they report for duty, said Jim Spiri.
"I pushed this so the next family will not have to go through this, ever," Spiri said yesterday. "It was just a total bunch of baloney, administered by bean counters that run the insurance companies for the military."
Domenici said the amendment "will work to close a loophole in the way medical coverage is granted to military men and women to avoid future tragedies" like Jesse Spiri's.
Jim Spiri, who has another son in the Army who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, was in the Senate gallery in Washington, D.C., to watch the final Senate vote on the bill last week.
"It was an awesome, sobering and humbling experience," he said. "It's through lots of prayer that we're confident that the Lord prevailed."
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 935-3916.
