We don’t need VA hospitals to fulfill that promise. They can be cared for at the same hospitals you and I go to with Uncle Sam picking up the check for their care. It would be far cheaper and they would get better care. Outsourcing is something we need to be looking at in all areas of government. The private sector runs circles around government run entities.
Don’t be so sure. I work for a health insurance company and see bills from VA facilities and from private hospitals. Typically services at VA facilities are charged at about 60% of private hospitals. For example an MRI of the spine at the VA is $850 and $1200 at the private hospital. A colonoscopy is about $900 at the VA and $1500 at the Gastro endoscopy suite downtown.
Usually the patients only wait a couple of days longer to get services at the VA than private sector.