What's your view on doing away with the VA health system?

I currently use the VA for 100% of my medical needs although I have TRICARE insurance. I live in the San Diego area and am fortunate to have many locations to go. LA Jolla VA is one of the top hospitals in the nation in my opinion. They are very responsive and provide referrals to civilian locations if they cant see you quickly. As for not living close to a VA hospital or clinic. In the last year or so if you are in the VA system you should have received a card called "VA Choice" which allows you to go somewhere near your location, Away or home. Check it out at http://www.va.gov/opa/choiceact.

The problem with the VA, and the federal government in general, is the supervisors inability to discipline and get rid of under performing employees. I was a Team Leader at a Vet Center and I had 2 under performing employees I tried to get rid of to no avail. I was told the risk of a law suit was too great to risk firing the employees! So they were allowed to continue to work, get paid, receive benefits, despite bad ratings, counseling statements, etc. So you have these employees that really only care about their paycheck and making sure they leave right at the 40-hour mark each week. They are allowed to be rude to vets and no one says anything. As far as I know, even the Sec of the VA does not have the power to fire someone on the spot. This has to change. Set up a task force whose goal is to go out and find bad employees, write them up, and get them out.

Yes. Why should our taxes pay for a corrupt health system?

A system that utilizes VA hospitals for those injuries and/or diseases peculiar to service related disease or injury and an open availability to other medical facilities might help the situation. With that type of help available to Vets there would be a case load distribution that could be better handled by the VA Hospitals and make ready care open to the VET.

I hear the news of extended wait times at VA hospitals, but at least as a government funded operation, there are checks and balances. Yes the VA has issues, but watching the whole choice program roll out, and all the issues I see with it, I don't think privatizing the VA will accomplish what we as Vets need. There will be no accountability with outside providers. I would like to see more accountability at my VA and hopefully they are on the right track to fix that.

I'm 80% disabled and can receive care for a sniffle free of charge from the VA. I have used this benefit zero times. At some point veterans should be responsible for their own health. As the system is now some completely rely upon the VA for their health care , personal health be damned. While something may not be immediately life threatening, if you can't see a doctor for two or three months, it certainly could turn in a life threatening situation. The system for appointments and wait times is not going to get better and an alternative should be sought to reduce the wait times but a little personal responsibility for ones own health would go a long way. Enabling them to pick their own provider would certainly help them do that.

but of course, the government breeds theft, and most care only about dollars, not about vet health care, if there politicians involved there are crooks , thieves,

I am 40% service connected disabled and on permanent disability retirement. Later in life I became 100% disable due to no service connected reasons. I use the VA for primary care at an outpatient clinic, but use Medicare and Tricare for Life for all specialist, test, imagery, surgery, pharmacy, etc. this keeps the VA informed of my total health situation while I can select my providers of choice for everything else.

As far as I am concerned, the VA system (and not just the medical) is nothing but another bloated federal agency who seems to go out of their way to make life difficult for veterans and retirees but until the political double speak and posturing ends it will remain business as usual. As a retiree I have seen a continual loss of benefits ended in the name of saving dollars yet the DoD pushes forward with one obscenely priced program after another many which duplicate systems being developed by another branch of the service already yet those who served with honor and dignity previously are the ones that are paying with broken promises. Lack of COLA's for retirees under the false flag on zero inflation, limited access to local pharmacies utilized for years, commissary being tinkered with, a new retirement pay system, and now talk of cutting GI Bill benefits is just several in a long list of cuts to those served and we all know how bad the VA medical system can be. To those young people looking to serve their nation today and to those serving contemplating a career, I would exercise caution as you have become as disposable as the vending machine coffee cup.

Why hasn't it been done already? I am, fortunately, able to use Civilian Health Care. In my opinion, comparing the V A Health Care System to Civilian Heath Care is not even close. I have been scrutinized, mistreated, had my Wife Verbally assaulted at V.A. Clinics and Hospitals in Nebraska. I could write a book however, I believe my point is made, Scrap the V.A. Health System Now!!