How does the possible closing of VA hospitals to cover the budget gap effect you?

2015-07-14T00:16:25-04:00

How would this effect you getting healthcare?

VA says it may shut down hospitals to close $2.5B budget gap
Associated Press By MATTHEW DALY
2 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Veterans Affairs may have to shut down some hospitals next month if Congress does not address a $2.5 billion shortfall for the current budget year, VA officials warned Monday.

The VA told Congress that it needs to cover shortfalls caused by an increased demand by veterans for health care, including costly treatments for hepatitis C. The agency also is considering furloughs, hiring freezes and other steps to close a funding gap for the budget year that ends Sept. 30.

The VA said it wants authority to use up to $3 billion from the new Veterans Choice program to close the budget gap, with as much as $500 million going to treat hepatitis C. A single pill for the liver-wasting viral infection can cost up to $1,000.

The Choice program, the centerpiece of a VA overhaul approved last year, makes it easier for veterans to receive federally paid medical care from local doctors. Congress approved $10 billion over three years for the Choice program as it responded to a scandal over long waits for veterans seeking medical care and falsified records to cover up the delays.

Deputy VA Secretary Sloan Gibson told Congress that VA health care sites experienced a 10.5 percent increase in workload for the one-year period since the scandal erupted in April 2014.

The VA needs flexibility from Congress to close the budget gap, Gibson said, adding that action is needed in the next three weeks to avoid drastic consequences.

Lawmakers from both parties faulted the VA for failing to announce the impending shortfall before last month. Lawmakers also criticized the agency for failing to anticipate or fix budget problems, including a failed VA hospital project in Denver that is more than $1 billion over budget.

Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said he was troubled at "VA's continued lack of transparency and refusal to be forthright with Congress," but said, "veterans must not be penalized for VA's ongoing mismanagement."

"This is far from the first time VA has disclosed problems far too late and turned its blatant mismanagement into a fiscal emergency," Miller said Monday night. He called on President Barack Obama to "step up and become engaged" in order to "ensure VA's incompetence does not shut down hospitals and deny veterans the care they have earned

http://news.yahoo.com/va-says-may-shut-down-hospitals-close-2-203352507--politics.html

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made Jul 14 at 2015 12:25 AM

2015-07-14T00:25:35-04:00

They might be more effective contracting the services out to civilian hospitals.

Response by SSG Trevor S. made Jul 14 at 2015 12:28 AM

2015-07-14T00:28:45-04:00

The sorry grabastic shortbus riders could do something novel like stop the frackery in Denver, fire some self-choking idiots and possibly spread that savings to be available for the rest of this great country's Veterans.
And the wonderful awesomeness of the situation is that the numbskull in charge wants to take money from a program that could help Veterans get care without traveling like an OTR truck driver instead of deep sixing the failed construction in Denver. Seriously, I can't imagine people failing this hard by waking up and saying to themselves, "Gee I want to see if I can make the guinness Book of World Records for fracking up".

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 14 at 2015 1:30 AM

2015-07-14T01:30:24-04:00

The VA does not have a choice. The Anti-Deficiency Act says you can't spend more than what is approved by congress. They are honest mistakes. Congress does not read budget details and the VA can't budget

Response by Maj Kim Patterson made Jul 14 at 2015 3:36 AM

2015-07-14T03:36:09-04:00

The civilians don't want us or feel ill equipped for problems soldiers may present

Some Non-Federal Physicians Express Discomfort Treating Veterans

U.S. Medicine, July 2015
“The push to allow veterans more access to non-VA care — or even to bifurcate the system, as some have suggested, so that specific types of care always are provided by private-sector clinicians — might be overlooking a critical factor: Non-federal physicians might not be all that comfortable treating veterans. A recent survey of nearly 150 U.S. osteopathic physicians indicated a desire for more training to properly identify, communicate and treat veterans with military conditions, according to a report in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association.1”

Response by SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. made Jul 14 at 2015 8:53 AM

2015-07-14T08:53:56-04:00

If there is not enough money going into the system there can't be enough money at the end of the system.

Response by SGM Steve Wettstein made Jul 14 at 2015 9:01 AM

2015-07-14T09:01:00-04:00

The possible VA closures wouldn't effect me at all. I use Tricare for my medical needs. I do my one time a year VA check up.

Response by LCDR Rabbah Rona Matlow made Jul 14 at 2015 3:55 PM

2015-07-14T15:55:15-04:00

We have veterans all over the country being turned away from VA medical centers because of lack of capacity. The Veteran's Choice card looks great on paper, but in action is essentially useless.

VA Healthcare is supposed to be advance funded each year for the following year, so they don't run out of money or turn people away in the event of a government shutdown. In practice they are nowhere near fully funded, because the leadership is surprised at how many vets are seeking healthcare, and because the GOP is continually underfunding VA healthcare and benefits, because people like Jeb Bush say we are lazy...

#NoIncumbentsIn2016

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 15 at 2015 9:03 PM

2015-07-15T21:03:34-04:00

My concern wouldn't be the closing of the hospitals sense i have tricare and SSI.. Tricare costs keeps goiing up... How ever my concern would be the cost of heath care without the hospitals... one would think it would cost more to use the card. or even contact it out....doctor office is 125.00 ER about 1000.00 not to menton the strain on the civil hospitals and doctors office. one would think it would cost less to expaned the military system and assign the va hospitals to them.

Response by TSgt Robert Schultz made Jul 29 at 2015 10:57 PM

2015-07-29T22:57:19-04:00

How you say ?
It would destroy me and my family !
Why ? I am a Veteran and VA employee and without income I would have a heart attack or stroke and NEED healthcare !