Is our VA system in a crisis because Vietnam Vets aren't dying?

2015-04-27T20:49:08-04:00

I read this from "This Ain't Hell But It's Close. It is very cold, callous, and disturbing to me. Because we aren't dying fast enough, the VA secretary claims that is why the VA is lagging behind.

VA Secretary McDonald: Aging vets straining the system
Dennis Wagner, The Republic | azcentral.com 12:05 p.m. MST April 24, 2015
Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald
(Photo: David Wallace/The Republic)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
VA Secretary Robert McDonald says the VA crisis was created by demands of an aging vet population.
McDonald said proposals to cut the VA's budget increase will worsen care delays and stymie reform.
McDonald was speaking to the Association of Health Care Journalists at a meeting in SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald said Friday the nation's VA health care crisis was created primarily by demands of an aging population of Vietnam warriors, and it could resurface as those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan grow older.
Speaking to the Association of Health Care Journalists, McDonald suggested that congressional efforts to cut the VA's proposed budget increase will exacerbate delays in care and stymie reform efforts.

He said the VA system was overwhelmed by complex medical needs of an older veteran population, and that problem was compounded by expanded health care benefits and a shortage of doctors and nurses. The upshot: Long waits for appointments and organizational dysfunction that first got exposed last year in the Phoenix VA Health Care System.

Nationwide, the number of VA medical claims rose from 2.7 million in 2009 to a projected 5.9 million in 2017, McDonald said, even though the overall number of veterans is declining. He noted that the entire U.S. health care system faces that same dilemma.

"Our veteran population — particularly that population who fought during the Vietnam War — is aging," McDonald said. "And the aging of that population is what created the stress on the system. Sound familiar? The VA is the canary in the coal mine."

INVESTIGATION: VA in Crisis
At Arizona's VA medical facilities, which had experienced a surge of patients, results were devastating: "The week after I got this job, I went to Phoenix — the epicenter — and I discovered we were short 1,000 (medical) providers," said the secretary. "And we were short clinical space."

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McDonald touted a hiring program, increased referrals for private treatment under a Veterans Choice program, and other reforms that he said have dramatically improved service to veterans.

But he warned that congressional efforts to stave off a proposed increase in the VA budget — reducing it by $1.4 billion — could undermine progress. He said it would mean 70,000 fewer veterans receive care, and major construction projects would be stopped.

"I don't create the demand," McDonald said. "I don't pass the laws to decide what benefits to give veterans. All I do is execute the laws, so I'm caught in this conundrum ... One of them has to change. You either have to give the whole budget, or you have to cut the benefits"

McDonald also announced the creation of a new medical advisory group, headed by former VA Under Secretary Jonathan Perlin, to help deliver care to the nation's 9 million veterans.

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 27 at 2015 8:51 PM

2015-04-27T20:51:34-04:00

Excuses are always easier than solutions.

Response by CPT Zachary Brooks made Apr 27 at 2015 8:56 PM

2015-04-27T20:56:49-04:00

Is Social Security in trouble because Baby Boomers aren't dying?

Is Healthcare in trouble because people are living longer?

SSDD.

Response by SGT Michael Touchet made Apr 27 at 2015 9:01 PM

2015-04-27T21:01:39-04:00

Maybe we just need a VA Secretary that can do the job. Maybe we need a Congress that can put forth the proper support of the VA. All I am trying to say is that our government has the ability to fix the problem and we the People need to insist that they do.

Response by SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. made Apr 27 at 2015 9:11 PM

2015-04-27T21:11:05-04:00

Absolutely ... living veterans remind politicians of their failed policies.

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Apr 27 at 2015 9:13 PM

2015-04-27T21:13:40-04:00

Our VA System is in trouble because:

1. Because its been mismanaged by pencil-dicked bureaucrats for far too long
2. Presidents through their foreign policy keep minting new veterans faster than the system can process them
3. Our benefits keep getting cut while the number of veteran needs rises
4. No congressmen have sons and daughters in the military so we are "someone else's kids" otherwise the VA would be paid attention to.
5. Wounds that would have killed vets in WWII are now treatable with modern medical advances, so there are more in need.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Apr 27 at 2015 10:03 PM

2015-04-27T22:03:32-04:00

It's hard to give credibility to an organization that makes national news by showing the results of a bad moral compass.

Response by LTC Hillary Luton made Apr 27 at 2015 10:22 PM

2015-04-27T22:22:56-04:00

Well hell! If they're having problems now, what do they think will happen when Vets from the last 14 years start to age? They are going to hit another crisis. But I agree with Capt Don Porter. Excuses.....

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 27 at 2015 10:36 PM

2015-04-27T22:36:13-04:00

That's a hell of an answer to Veterans, isn't it? They have always grabbed some excuse out of the blue, now it's our own fault for the shitty VA's problems. I can believe McDonald is sucking up to the to the President who sucks up to anyone who does what he wants. This makes me so damned mad. I wonder how the active troopers feel about this. The ones in harms way, giving it everything they have. Besides being alive, they don't have much to look forward to when they come home. They can't find a job, If they have mental or chemical problems, they have to wait for treatment, IF THEY QUALIFY ! So us Vietnam vets aren't dying fast enough so the VA can take of the new, younger group, that's going to age also, and the same fucked up excuse can be used against them. Bullshit!

Response by CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 28 at 2015 12:48 AM

2015-04-28T00:48:01-04:00

Well I believe that it all started by the VA themselves and some of the Major Veterans Organizations. When I retired from the Marine Corps in 1994 and filed for my disabilities with the VFW, it took six months for the VA's decision. The VA health care for veterans enrolled were around 1.2 million. The VA decided to open their doors to more veterans who needed care but was not service-connected. Then they changed the priority groups and added 5 years to any Iraq or Afgan veteran health care who were in the combat zone. The VA Health Care didn't change in their procedures, protocol or personnel in the last 3 decades. Higher management decided other wise. VA and DOD didn't want to help the situation out by having one complete discharge physical exam. So the VA and DOD came up with another idea. Getting the active duty to file their claim with the VA before they got out. NOW LOOK AT THIS MESS we are ALL in. Any Veterans from any era is not the problem, and never was. The system for the VA itself is Broke and no one wants to admit it. How many times do I have to read about the homeless veterans, the suicide veterans, veterans that are old. We as veterans maybe 1 % who served in the last conflict. I highly recommend that all veterans and anyone who is not a veteran watch the TV series about the Rise and Fall of the Third Rech. Our main problem is the people we elected to serve our people. If you look at how many active congress members are or have been in any branch of service you will be shock. THE VA can't do it's job because it's not in our Governments Best National Interests. But every other Country is. So who's to blame them or us who fought for this Country and have the Freedom to express our beliefs as a whole Nation of Veterans, families of veterans, friends and co-workers of veterans. Just one Marine's opinion.

James

Response by CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 28 at 2015 2:58 AM

2015-04-28T02:58:53-04:00

No, That's not the real reason. If it wasn't for the men and women who served in Vietnam and South East Asia none of the benefits I have received today would be applicable. The Vietnam Veterans should be recgonized for their Go-To-Attitude in gettting the VA to make major changes in their regulations and rules. I'm all for any veterans of any era to get their VA entitlements if they are eligible. And most likely they are. James