What do you think are the largest issues facing the Veteran community?

I believe one of the largest issues that are affecting veterans today is access to care. During COVID, I was blocked from receiving several services due to my age and the need to protect older veterans. This is fine, but I was unable to receive diagnostic tests that were in connection to my rated disabilities.

Also, after moving across the country, my husband (also a rated disabled veteran) and I were cut out from our medications and informed we could not receive care for 8 to 9 months. It has now been a year and we still have not received care. I know there is a service for community care, but our local offices and the patient advocacy office would not answer the phone. We would leave messages and there would be no call back. Veterans should not have to beg for Healthcare, especially when they have rated disabilities.

I believe that the va is doing its best to take care of all veterans. The problem i see is the homeless veterans. I feel no one is reaching out to them to help get them the help they need. I do feel if there was a place for them to live besides out on the street. There are multiple empty buildings that the va could aquire for the homeless veterans and help them to get their benefits and assistance to get off the street.

accessing health care services

I think it's difficult for veterans to get good information about benefits and programs available for them. We need more information and people to do outreach at the smaller clinics. A lot of veterans need to also be taught how to use ebenefits and va.gov because a lot of them don't have an account or even know what kind of Healthcare and services are available for them.

Homelessness is top priority, secondly It is the vets that are close to losing their home but can't get assistance because they aren't homeless. That is an issue that happened a few years ago to me and is on the horizon again. I refuse to ask again because of the first time it happened to me.

The move to privatize VA care is a means to fix what is not broken. The VA does what it does well. In fact, the VA could expand to include care for dependents of veterans. The CHAMPVA system is woefully inadequate. Dependents could be treated at VA medical centers just like dependents of active duty members are treated at base facilities.

Homelessness and transitioning to a civilian job.

A lack of reliable doctors in the VA healthcare system!!!!!

getting the doctors to listen to the veterabs and more doctors

I think one of the largest issues facing the Veteran community is the lack of consistent care throughout the VA. I have heard some horrific stories from some of our fellow Veterans, and I am on my 7th PCP at my local VA hospital. Of course I know that not everywhere is going to have the same quality of doctors, but I should expect to expect the same quality care that I get in Tampa, that I would receive at any other VA hospital.

The lack of follow through from some of the Doctors is another huge problem. I had complained dozens of times over the last 4 years about my back pain and, I even got Congress involved because of my lack of care, which amounted to nothing but more of the same "hurry up and wait". Last August I started questioning if I had the strength to continue the fight because the VA didn't seem to give a shit about my pain, and the civilian Emergency Rooms only threw medicine at me and told me and told me to go away. I only a month ago got sent to a civilian spine specialist who just injected me with an epidural, and that 45 minute procedure was more than the entire VA hospital had done for me for the entire last 4 years combined. I know that is certainly one of the biggest issues our community is facing, and I know for a fact that the amount of Veterans not getting the treatment they need and deserve plays a direct role in the mental health, and suicide rates.