Posted on Dec 4, 2023
VA's role in migrant medical care draws scrutiny from advocates as border crisis intensifies
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A long-standing arrangement between the Department of Veterans Affairs and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to process claims for migrant medical care is drawing scrutiny from veterans’ advocates — who are concerned that it could affect the agency’s mission of caring for veterans — amid an ongoing border crisis and existing complaints about the care delivered to veterans. When an illegal immigrant under ICE detention requires healthcare, they are typically treated on-site by medical professionals. However, if specialist or emergency care is required, they may be transported to an independent private provider. In such cases, ICE contracts with the VA’s Financial Service Center (VA-FSC) to process reimbursements to those providers. According to a report from July, ICE has hundreds of letters of understanding in which ICE’s Health Service Corps (IHSC) will reimburse providers at Medicare rates. That uses the VA-FSC’s Healthcare Claims Processing System — a portal that allows providers to submit and view claims and access other resources
VA's role in migrant medical care draws scrutiny from advocates as border crisis intensifies
Posted from foxnews.com
VHA
Veterans Affairs (VA)
Healthcare
Immigration
Edited 5 mo ago
Posted 5 mo ago
Responses: 7
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Scrutiny … really that’s the response to this SCRUTINY? Every member of Congress who have told us they support Veterans issues and every Veteran Service Organization should be mobilizing to protest these actions … if a single vet is denied or turned away from the VA because of lack of resources anywhere anytime the Sec. of the Veterans Administration should be drawn and quartered! Full stop!
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MSgt Dale Johnson
I do not believe the Secretary of Veterans Affairs is the one who decided on this absurd policy, I do believe it should be removed from the VA's responsibility though.
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LTC Marc King
MSgt Dale Johnson He did not decide it but it’s still going on and he is the Secretary of Department so it falls to his watch to end it … and yet he doesn’t.
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https://townhall.com/tipsheet/saraharnold/2023/12/03/dept-of-va-under-fire-for-treating-illegal-aliens-while-ignoring-care-for-veterans-n2631937
Darin Selnick, who worked as veterans’ affairs adviser on the Domestic Policy Council and as a senior adviser to the VA secretary during the Trump administration, said, “In my position, we would have stopped this because if the VA had the extra ability to do this, then they should have been doing it for the veterans and not for another agency.” Under President Joe Biden’s term, the VA has processed 161,000 medical and dental care claims for unauthorized migrants in 2022 while postponing medical care for U.S. veterans
Darin Selnick, who worked as veterans’ affairs adviser on the Domestic Policy Council and as a senior adviser to the VA secretary during the Trump administration, said, “In my position, we would have stopped this because if the VA had the extra ability to do this, then they should have been doing it for the veterans and not for another agency.” Under President Joe Biden’s term, the VA has processed 161,000 medical and dental care claims for unauthorized migrants in 2022 while postponing medical care for U.S. veterans
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Cpl Vic Burk
Lt Col Charlie Brown They will take care of illegal for dental but for a Veteran we have to be 100%. What a load of crap.
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SP5 Robert Kennedy
I met a Vietnam Veteran from Arizona several months after I moved here in 1983. Being from Michigan, and also during that period of my life being news adverse - I'd never heard of that man. When I met him - quite by chance at an affair that my new employer insisted that I attend when they provided my ticket to it, I had a personal one-on-one conversation with him - about Vietnam. shortly after our meal I was shocked as they introduced the speaker of the special address as he approached the podium. John McCain told me personally to get registered for services at the VA Hospital in Phoenix. I tried once per week at all times of day and into the night, as well as all 7 days of the week for over a year. Each time they were "too busy". Come back another day. I even financed a couple VA doctors' home loans, nothing they could do for me.
Long story short: the VA Medical Care TODAY is an incredible resource to all of us. It is appropriately named VA to serve Veterans. If they build a new wing and name it "Illegal Border Crosser Annex", THEN perhaps it MIGHT be appropriate for them to serve those people - only in that wing. I could say "Don't hold your breath" but in this broken mess of leadership, you just never know.
Long story short: the VA Medical Care TODAY is an incredible resource to all of us. It is appropriately named VA to serve Veterans. If they build a new wing and name it "Illegal Border Crosser Annex", THEN perhaps it MIGHT be appropriate for them to serve those people - only in that wing. I could say "Don't hold your breath" but in this broken mess of leadership, you just never know.
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I think a lot of people are failing to read this story completely and critically.
VA is not providing care. They are not treating, evaluating, processing, visiting, or doing anything else with the migrants. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch.
They are processing PAPERWORK for US providers to get paid for the care they have provided. That's it. And VA is not paying for that care, either. Just processing the paperwork.
And yes, it makes sense. VA already has the system in place through the community care program to process government health care payments to private providers for non-medicare patients. This is much more cost effective than creating a new department within ICE that does the exact same thing in the exact same way for a different group of people.
VA is not providing care. They are not treating, evaluating, processing, visiting, or doing anything else with the migrants. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch.
They are processing PAPERWORK for US providers to get paid for the care they have provided. That's it. And VA is not paying for that care, either. Just processing the paperwork.
And yes, it makes sense. VA already has the system in place through the community care program to process government health care payments to private providers for non-medicare patients. This is much more cost effective than creating a new department within ICE that does the exact same thing in the exact same way for a different group of people.
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Lt Col Scott Shuttleworth
SFC Casey O'Mally Although I agree with you on the funding I don't fully agree. Processing claims even on a portal requires human interaction and those humans work for the VA and are also processing claims for Veterans. So by the very nature of the action, every second they are processing claims for illegals is a second that is taken away from Veterans and thier salary is costing the VA for non VA work...so there is a bill to pay...Now is the VA paying for the medical services themselves, nope they aren't but there is an indirect cost to it.
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SFC Casey O'Mally
Lt Col Scott Shuttleworth Yes, there is a cost involved, I never said there wasn't. I acknowledge this when I mention it is more cost effective for VA to do it.
Yes, certainly ICE (or Congress) should be chipping in some money for the added work.
But remember that these are payment claims not disability claims. The veterans are not being harmed here. The service providers facing a longer wait to be paid are. Still not ideal, sure. And if the backlog gets so bad community partners are no longer willing to provide service, I'll change my tune - and right, quick, too.
But for right now, this is literally just a paperwork shuffle that affects no one on the front end.
Yes, certainly ICE (or Congress) should be chipping in some money for the added work.
But remember that these are payment claims not disability claims. The veterans are not being harmed here. The service providers facing a longer wait to be paid are. Still not ideal, sure. And if the backlog gets so bad community partners are no longer willing to provide service, I'll change my tune - and right, quick, too.
But for right now, this is literally just a paperwork shuffle that affects no one on the front end.
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