Esquire got the ball rolling with its story claiming that the Navy told the former Navy SEAL who shot Osama bin Laden, “Your coverage is over … Go fuck yourself”:

“I left SEALs on Friday,” he said the next time I saw him. It was a little more than thirty-six months before the official retirement requirement of twenty years of service. “My health care for me and my family stopped at midnight Friday night. I asked if there was some transition from my Tricare to Blue Cross Blue Shield. They said no. You’re out of the service, your coverage is over. Thanks for your sixteen years. Go fuck yourself.” The government does provide 180 days of transitional health-care benefits, but the Shooter is eligible only if he agrees to remain on active duty “in a support role,” or become a reservist. Either way, his life would not be his own. Instead, he’ll buy private insurance for $486 a month, but some treatments that relieve his wartime pains, like $120 for weekly chiropractic care, are out-of-pocket. Like many vets, he will have to wait at least eight months to have his disability claims adjudicated. Or even longer. The average wait time nationally is more than nine months, according to the Center for Investigative Reporting.

The story spread like wildfire on the Internet thanks in part to “real journalists” like Ezra Klein and Sarah Kliff of the Washington Post.

It's not just the SEAL who killed bin Laden who's uninsured. As @sarahkliff notes, 1.3 million vets are uninsured: http://t.co/22DM2ASG — Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) February 11, 2013

The Navy SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden now lacks health insurance coverage, after leaving the military. http://t.co/MOqweRBk — Sarah Kliff (@sarahkliff) February 11, 2013

The Navy SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden is now uninsured. Via @sarahkliff http://t.co/MgQcUTdQ — Karen Tumulty (@ktumulty) February 11, 2013

The Navy SEAL who killed bin Laden is reportedly uninsured http://t.co/oK7F3C84 — Huffington Post (@HuffingtonPost) February 12, 2013

Navy SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden tells Esquire he is uninsured http://t.co/1LL275Y0 — AL.com Huntsville (@ALcomHuntsville) February 11, 2013

Navy SEAL who killed #OsamaBinLaden has left military &has no health insurance. Our veterans deserve better, no? http://t.co/AwE4y4xV — Stacey Sager (@staceysager7) February 11, 2013

A national tragedy and inexcusable disgrace The Navy SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden is now uninsured http://t.co/UKDHvDpe — Frances Townsend (@FranTownsend) February 11, 2013

We send soldiers to war to protect us then don't protect them at home RT @ezraklein: SEAL who killed Osama is uninsured http://t.co/0W4XtRIa — Natalie Kitroeff (@Nataliekitro) February 11, 2013

"Here is what he gets from his employer and a grateful nation:

Nothing." The man who shot bin Laden: http://t.co/gWpumYTh — Steve Inskeep (@NPRinskeep) February 11, 2013

Navy Seal who killed Osama bin Laden is leaving. He gets no pension, no health care and has no job lined up. http://t.co/HTXq4F9M — Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) February 11, 2013

Navy SEAL who shot bin Laden enters civilian life with no job, no health insurance and no pension: http://t.co/ibBcrBAq — azcentral (@azcentral) February 12, 2013

Just two problems.

First, contrary to what Klein and others initially wrote, the former Navy SEAL has health insurance:

Correction: The Seal who shot bin Laden lost his Tricare, but he is now buying insurance on the individual market: http://t.co/xG2BuHmO — Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) February 11, 2013

Oops!

Second, it turns out that the former SEAL is eligible for at least five years of free health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs — a rather important fact that somehow was omitted in both the original Esquire article and the MSM’s follow-up coverage.

Brandon Friedman, who used to be a public affairs officer for the VA, was among the first to call BS:

The @Esquiremag story about the SEAL who shot bin Laden is an interesting read, but full vet health care inaccuracies. http://t.co/kwQZQ9lN — Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) February 11, 2013

.@PhilBronstein rattles off list of injuries sustained by SEAL who shot bin Laden. Then says he's not entitled to gov health care. Not true. — Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) February 11, 2013

All OEF/OIF combat veterans are eligible for at least five years of free health care after separation. http://t.co/kkbG02Ac @PhilBronstein — Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) February 11, 2013

.@PhilBronstein Please pass on the link. Either he paid no attention during his separation briefings or the folks outprocessing him failed. — Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) February 11, 2013

@ktumulty @sarahkliff After five years, it depends on disability rating and income. Bottom line, he's covered. He just may not know it. — Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) February 11, 2013

@13Stoploss @PhilBronstein It's "for conditions possibly related to military service AND enrollment in Priority Group 6." No questions asked — Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) February 11, 2013

@_Orwell @ktumulty @sarahkliff Combat veterans of OEF/OIF do not have to wait. They are entitled to five years of free care regardless. — Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) February 11, 2013

@mattdpearce All OEF/OIF vets are entitled to 5 yrs of free VA health care. After 5 yrs, it depends on their disability rating and/or income — Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) February 11, 2013

@mattdpearce Either he didn't pay attention during his outprocessing or those who briefed him failed. But he's absolutely covered. — Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) February 11, 2013

The author of the Esquire article, Phil Bronstein, responded to Friedman that the “5-year provision is in the story.”

@BFriedmanDC Brandon thanks for this. The 5 year care provision is in the story but you're right: outplacement didn't tell him. — PhilBronstein (@PhilBronstein) February 11, 2013

More BS. Bronstein’s article makes no mention of the 5-year provision.

@RmazeTns @Esquiremag That's exactly what I mean. He says it's in the story, but I couldn't find it: https://t.co/OJVFFmYe — Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) February 11, 2013

And get this: Rather than issue a correction and apology for smearing the military, Bronstein is standing by his bogus story. According to Stars and Stripes reporter Megan McCloskey, Bronstein said “the assertion that the government gave the SEAL ‘nothing’ in terms of health care is both fair and accurate, because the SEAL didn’t know the VA benefits existed.”

What?

Even more absurd: Bronstein stated that there wasn’t room in his 15,000-word article to include any information about the former SEAL’s eligibility for VA health benefits.

Bronstein's explanation of why he made the healthcare error is pretty dubious http://t.co/9xE2yGT8 — jasoncherkis (@jasoncherkis) February 12, 2013

You can say that again.

Was the longtime Navy SEAL really ignorant of his VA health benefits, as Bronstein asserts? Some Twitter users find that claim really hard to believe:

@intelwire @young_98_98 I find it hard to believe a SEAL with 16 years in was completely ignorant of his VA benefits… — Will McPherson (@WilliamMcTweets) February 12, 2013

@speechboy71 he wants you to believe that a 16 year SEAL NCO vet didn't know they were available. Riiiight. But that is "another story" — Dave Duffy (@DuffySends) February 12, 2013

@BFriedmanDC @starsandstripes @megmccloskey Hard to fathom claim SEAL was ignorant of VA health benefits. Big briefing at outprocessing. — Dave Hall (@ftngleprechaun) February 12, 2013

Meanwhile, hours after the story was debunked, the MSM plowed ahead with its false narrative:

Navy SEAL who killed bin Laden left uninsured after leaving service http://t.co/Ax8F1Wcz — The WorldPost (@TheWorldPost) February 12, 2013

Layers and layers of fact-checkers score again:

The spread of the "Navy-abandons-SEAL-who-shot-bin-Laden" story has reflected incredibly poorly on the media today. — Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) February 11, 2013

Related:

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Update:

Lying liars at Esquire double down, falsely claim they disclosed former Navy SEAL’s eligibility for VA benefits