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

On one hand there could be a benefit if veterans were able to have access to more doctors or clinics. On the other side providers may not provide certain services or do so at a considerable cost. Given the rise of the affordable care act and other programs, there should be a comprehensive way forward to get more care to more people than the current overburdened system. Perhaps if the same money that goes to VA went to subsidize companies to provide care, a balance could be struck.

We will have some other organization to bitch about.

Pay me now or pay me later. I am very concerned that if the VA is destroyed, then who cares for their patients? Where are the facilities and skilled medical help to come from? Who pays for it?
Most of the veterans in the VA system do not have the individual means to pay for the long-term care which they require. Also, the private sector does not have a very good record of caring for needy or less-well-off patients. How many times have we seen horror stories about nursing homes and long-term care facilities that are not taking good care of their elderly patients? I'd rather be dead than be left to rot in some cheapo institution that doesn't provide good medical care, good nutrition and some modicum of personal attention and engagement. Are people supposed to stare out of a window in a "group room" for years until they die? Yugghhh....

It works good for me. Living OCONUS, I use the Foreign Medical Program (FMP). A little different. First I have to contact the U.S. Embassy in Oslo to make an appointment, then the process starts. So far it works good. My biggest problem is I've yet to find any Danish doctors who want to deal with the VA paper work and system, so I end up getting appointments in Germany, usually around Frankfurt or lower down. Costs me time and lots of planning, but so far ok.

I am interested to hear what the retired folks have to say about it - never dealt with them and only know what I hear in the news or anecdotally from ppl I know.

I went to a private provider of choice. They gave me a clean bill of health and they were completely wrong. The VA specialist knew exactly what my problem was when I described symptoms. I had surgery at the VA hospital and received excellent care. I will NOT go to the private sector provider EVER again. The notion that private sector providers are the better choice was NOT my experience.

We (the government) needs to work towards overhauling the VA Health Care System so it works. If a vet cannot see a doctor let them go outside the system for healthcare, but let's not destroy a healthcare system that keeps improving. Improvements take time especially when it come to government.

I use the VA Health care system. In my opinion they should do both. There are issues that only VA doctors and specialists are familiar with and those issues should go directly to them. For the rest of the day to day health issues a private physician would be well suited to address. I agree that the care at a VA facility is top notch. The problem is you have to wait an extended period of time before you can get to one. By allowing Veterans to go to their family practitioner would dramatically reduce the number of people that a VA facility would see, which would decrease wait times and allow them to come up with a more streamlined admin function. The system they use was never designed to handle the volume of patients. Dallas has 135,000 out patient visits a month. The government keeps throwing money at the problem but it only gets worse when the band aid falls off.

I have to agree with every thing I have read. They have some of the best doctors and nurses in the world. For the most part the administration should not be in charge of a kindergarten sand box. They are lazy, inept, control freaks or any combination of the 3.

When "doing away with the VA health system" would this change still utilize the VA category Priority Groups for care? How will that affect co-pays and medication cost? If hospitals\clinics throughout the country already have a long waiting list for care, how would this affect appointment utilization? Too many variables in the equation. Why not "FIX" the current VA system from the top on down? Billions of dollars have already been sunk into a broken system and many VA hospitals are still being built. FIX the broken system...that is the solution to it all.

I read the question wrong. now that I saw a response, I had to seek non va care because my nearest VA did not have a specialist at the time. I used the non VA referal because Veterans choice fell through. This was after moving and changing regions and having to start all over again with a new VA Region. It would be nice if the system was more efficient and it did not take so long some times to get a simple appointment out of VA. On the other side though, almost all of my care has been with the VA since retirement. I don't mind the reimbursement for mileage, I schedule my appointments around payday so I can afford the initial cost. So if somebody in the VA needs to see my info, it is all in one location, no need for a release of records

I don't think it is a good idea. For the most part my VA health care has been very good and consistent. All of the VA providers I have used have been excellent with 1 exception. But that happens in non VA providers too.

If the system is equal to or greater than what is currently provide and the cost to the vet is equal or less than current, I would be in favor of such a move.

Since the coverage provided is about as likely to provide cost free coverage without deductibles as we a all are to win the lottery on the same day I am against the idea. It will make a very profitable pot of gold for some and screw the vets like tricare did for retirees