Any government program will be abused. It always is. The veteran should be required always to have a veteran id with miniaturized DD214 on one side and picture, current address, etc., on the other. And there should be a requirement that the ID must be renewed every 5 or 7 years. Then they can use their credit card.
That's what was suggested when I worked for the VA -- more than 30 years ago. At the time I understood that the concept was studied and the executive report indicated that not only would it be much better, it would be much cheaper. The report of the study is, I think, stored at the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository.
The VA problems are systemic and the only way to find someone who isn't tainted is to recruit outside of the VA. The problem with going outside the VA is that someone who might possibly be an effective VA chief wouldn't want to work for Obama.