Posted on 07/30/2016 8:08:51 AM PDT by SoFloFreeper
Here are specifics.
Only one thing missing
Fire the corrupt and prosecute incompetent VA executives that let our veterans down
The VA Hospital situation is a direct result of the politics of the VFW and American. The Democrats saw the VA as a way to buy the votes of veterans with FREE STUFF. Republicans competed with Dems in giving free stuff.
The solution is obvious. Sell off VA Hospitals to private investors. Issue vouchers (or whatever) to Veterans which they can use anywhere they want.
My personal opinion: Vets like me who suffered no injury in Vietnam should not get any VA healthcare. Half of PTSD is due to alcohol and drugs and is not the fault of the military. Those who have true service connected issues should receive the benefit.
Proving service connection is the fly in the ointment here, if nothing else is allowed. This can take years, which could put urgently needed care in limbo.
If promises were made to enlistees that were more generous than this, every effort should be made to keep these promises. These people did more than just deliver a vote to a government.
Even if half of PTSD is from purposely careless lives, how do they know the other half is?
Babies are being thrown out with bathwater.
Mental issues are very controversial.
Different religions and thelogians have different views.
People who believe in personal resopnsibility have different views.
The goal of all government help should be to get people off government help and self-supporting or supported by family and private charity.
From what I’ve seen of PTSD treatment it is often used as an excuse to not function inspite of the problems. But I’m no expert on PTSD. I deal with healthcare statistics in the Medicaid and private insurance world. Not so much the VA.
This one needs more work. How about do away with VA hospitals and allow veteran’s free access to medical care for service related injuries including counseling for service related PTSD? I think America can find the money to pay for such a program by slashing waste, fraud and abuse in our government.
The VA is a bloated bureaucracy. Typically there are 3-5 pencil pushers for every person involved in direct patient care. Most of what they do is create “metrics” that burden the providers without any contribution to improving veteran’s care. They then use these metrics to create graphs and pie charts to make it look like they are doing something important. If the VA was run like a private hospital 2/3 of these dues-paying union workers would be gone and the contributions to the uniparty would be greatly diminished. THAT is the big problem.
Eureka!
You make an excellent point that I have never heard remotely emphasized. It clarifies the conditions and is so simple. Good heaven’s.
He had private insurance and so did I that paid for the surgery and we paid for the rest out of pocket. It has been five years and they still refuse to reimburse us for our OOP.
According to what the gentleman at DAV said you have to be diagnosed twice before separation for them to call it a SRI without a major fight.
How many times does a broken neck need to be diagnosed? Apparently twice.
How many military doctors do you have to say that you are currently fit to return to duty but to expect problems down the road? Apparently one is not enough.
Build more prisons.
We’re going to need them.
The VA bureaucrats are organized crime. The thievery is astounding.
I agree. The only caveat needed, I think, is that we honor our commitments and promises to our veterans. Some may have entered military service based at least partly on those promises. I think we could do something like when prior GOP candidates talked about restructuring either social security or medicare. There needs to be a definite change date, ie, current veterans will not lose any benefits, period.
"Make the VA great again by firing the corrupt and incompetent VA executives who let our veterans down....
I would include any other employee who cares more for their job than the veterans.
But good luck!
The federal government employees union runs the VA right now, and they won't go down without a fight.
I agree with you. VA benefits should be for service related injuries or service related illnesses only. If that were the case the VA could (and of course without the bureaucracy and corruption) afford top of the line care and treatment for injured vets. While PTDS is real in some cases, I also think some use it as an excuse not to work and to receive benefits. And some went into the military with pre-existing mental health issues and drug and alcohol problems or developed them much later in life.
My late father was a WWII vet and used a combination of private insurance and Medicare after he turned 65.
But he would still go to the VA once every couple of months to see a VA doctor. Why? To get his insulin and insulin needles for free at the VA. His diabetes was in no way service related but he held the opinion they owe me. One day I had to correct him and let him know that I and other taxpayers were paying for his VA provided free insulin.
re: some went into the military with pre-existing mental health issues
Yes, my brothers and sisters diagnosed me as crazy before I went in the Army. Now my daughters confirm that diagnosis and tell me I’m crazy.
What does the Army have to do with that?
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