Latest VA Bill has veterans pulling out bullshit meters!

Latest VA Bill has veterans pulling out bullshit meters!

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 12, 2014

The Editorial Staff of the Hartford Courant has a good piece up but they got most of what they are angry about wrong. First of all, none of what they are complaining about now is new but the end of the editorial is spot on,

It would be unforgivable if dysfunction in Congress delayed a fix of the VA's problems.

Overall, the Army’s Medical Corps has downsized significantly since the Persian Gulf War in the 1990s, dropping from 5,400 to 4,300 physicians and from 4,600 to 3,400 nurses.
Shortages could be hurting Army health care, Gannett News Service, By Laura Ungar, Jan 12, 2008

"Therein lies the truth." The DOD wasn't taking care of them first and then the VA was expected to but Congress was talking about cutting the VA budget. Cutting? Yes cutting the budget when more and more were returning from two wars.

Representative Steve Buyer, Republican of Indiana, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, indicated he was open to the ideas. Laura J. Zuckerman, a spokeswoman for Mr. Buyer, said he saw the proposals as a way to "bring balance, fairness and equity into the system."

The president's budget would save $293 million by reducing federal payments for state-run homes that provide veterans with long-term care. It would also save more than $100 million with a one-year hiatus in federal spending for construction and renovation of such homes.

Things had gone from bad to worse so veterans groups decided to sue.

They say there are long waiting lists for veterans who need mental health care and a huge backlog of more than 600,000 disability claims. In the meantime, veterans are said to be committing suicide in unprecedented numbers.

Former Marine Guido Gualco fought in the late 80's in Operation Desert Storm. VA doctors failed to diagnose his PTSD until 2005 -- 14 years after he was discharged. It got so bad, he begged his friend to kill him.

"I was questioning God, 'why was I alive?' I didn't want to live," says Gualco.

Army specialist Tim Chapman was a Humvee gunner in the Middle East. He was discharged after he fell into a deep depression in 2006.

"I was sitting in Roseville with my gas on the pedal and I was going to drive my car off this cliff at a truck stop," says Chapman.

Paul Sullivan heads Veterans for Common Sense. He says the VA has failed to deal with the growing problem of veteran suicides.

"There are cases around the country of veterans who said they were suicidal in front of VA employees and they were placed on waiting lists and otherwise turned away," says Sullivan.
VA Under Scrutiny For Veteran Suicides, ABC 7 News, San Francisco March 3, 2008

They also got wrong how rural area veterans will see any type of change in their care when they go to a private doctor if the VA can't see them on time.

What is Non-VA Care: Non-VA Care is medical care provided to eligible Veterans outside of VA when VA facilities are not available. All VA medical centers can use this program when needed. The use of the Non-VA Care program is governed by federal laws containing eligibility criteria and other policies specifying when and why it can be used. A pre-authorization for treatment in the community is required for Non-VA Care -- unless the medical event is an emergency. Emergency events may be reimbursed on behalf of the Veteran in certain cases. See the Emergency Non-VA Care brochure for information.

Unavailability of VA Medical Facilities or Services: Non-VA Care is used when VA medical facilities are not “feasibly available.” The local VA medical facility has criteria to determine whether Non-VA Care may be used. If a Veteran is eligible for certain medical care, the VA hospital or clinic should provide it as the first option. If they can’t -- due to a lack of available specialists, long wait times, or extraordinary distances from the Veteran’s home -- the VA may consider authorizing VA payment for Non-VA medical care in the Veteran’s community. Non-VA Care is not an entitlement program or a permanent treatment option.

It was all done before.

Special VA Funding for Rural Health
(By VISN number and VISN Headquarters)

#1. Bedford, Mass., $1 million
#2. Rochester, N.Y., $1 million
#3. New York, N.Y., $250,000
#4. Wilmington, Del., $1 million
#5. Baltimore, Md., $250,000
#6. Durham, N.C., $1.5 million
#7. Atlanta, Ga., $1.5 million
#8. Bay Pines, Fla., $1 million
#9. Nashville, Tenn., $1.5 million
#10. Cincinnati, Ohio, $1 million
#11. Ann Arbor, Mich., $1 million
#12. Chicago, Ill., $1 million
#15. Kansas City, Mo., $1.5 million
#16. Jackson, Miss., $1.5 million
#17. Arlington, Texas, $1 million
#18. Mesa, Ariz., $1 million
#19. Denver, Colo., $1 million
#20. Vancouver, Wash., $1 million
#21. Palo Alto, Calif., $1 million
#22. Long Beach, Calif., $250,000
#23. Lincoln, Neb., $1.5 million

Congress will never be able to "fix" what they don't understand and the public will just keep trusting these guys are doing something about all of it. The fact is, they are great at spending money but do little when it comes to doing the right thing then they whine they have no money to do more. Nice trick played out for decades against veterans.