What VA Scandal?
In 2011, economist Paul Krugman attacked Republican lawmakers for wanting to reform the federal agency responsible for delivering health services to our military personnel. Krugman wrote, “Multiple surveys have found the V.H.A. providing better care than most Americans receive,” and said the VA was “a huge policy success story.” Well, he was wrong.
Today, we know the embattled agency needs an overhaul. When news broke last year that numerous veterans had died while awaiting medical treatment, the public was emphatic in its determination to deliver a message of discontentment to the VA. So, despite Krugman’s fanfare for the VA and despite the media ignoring the ongoing issues, a new report by Heartland Institute indicates at least one national veterans’ organization is still paying attention and thinks reform is necessary.
The VA, now known for being plagued by controversy, has a history of problems ranging from fraud and mismanagement to inadequate mental health treatment, which the NCPA has commented on in the past.
Are we really expected to believe veterans are better off receiving treatment in the current VA system? According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll, 97 percent of Americans believe the VA scandal is a serious problem.
Meanwhile, the White House has not only struggled to provide answers but has recently proposed cutting $10 billion in funding from the Choice Law, a law President Obama signed and touted just six months ago. The Choice Law gives veterans living in more remote areas of the country the opportunity to seek medical treatment closer to home, outside of the VA
Nate Wilson (@nateallenwilson) is an editor and analyst at the National Center for Policy Analysis.
The VA scandal was highly localized, based on my reading.
Some cities had terrible waiting lists, and others had no waiting lists.
My late father was treated by the VA in MN his last few years, and never had to wait for anything.
Whereas Phoenix and some other districts were very troubled.
Some of this is bad management. Some of it comes from older veterans moving south, but funding for facilities being allocated politically — not by need.
I am not excusing the VA. A national agency will always be clumsier than consumer preferences. In fact Medicare is more efficient than the VA, because the dollars pretty much follow the patient.
Still, the VA is not a place of pure scandal.