|
PureBytes Links
Trading Reference Links
|
Veterans' wait for doctors targeted
By Joyce Howard Price
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Many veterans must wait more than a year for an appointment with a
primary care doctor at Veterans Affairs health facilities. Some die before
even being seen by a physician. Top Stories
. Western targets bombed in Riyadh
. N. Korea fired laser at troops
. U.S. keeps pre-emption doctrine 'open'
. 2 major aides of Saddam captured
. Democrats close Texas House with a walkout
. Radiation poisoning feared from Iraq looting
. D.C. agency director gets OK to moonlight
That's intolerable, said Ronald F. Conley, national commander of the
American Legion.
"It's a two-year wait for veterans wishing to see a doctor at the VA
Medical Center in Togus, Maine," Mr. Conley said in a telephone interview
from his Indianapolis office.
"How many people outside VA would tolerate a doctor's appointment that
can't be made inside a year? It happens all over the country, all the time,"
Mr. Conley, an Air Force veteran, writes in an article in the May issue of
the American Legion Magazine.
"From Maine to California, from Washington to Florida - even in
Hawaii - everyone is waiting, waiting, waiting. Veterans continue to spend
intolerably long periods of time trying to access the health care they
earned and now need," the legion commander said.
Asked in the telephone interview if some veterans have died waiting to
see a VA doctor, Mr. Conley said, "Absolutely."
The entire May issue of the American Legion Magazine deals with the
Department of Veterans Affairs' beleaguered health care system, and makes
recommendations to "steer ... it away from disaster." Key among them are
proposals to make VA funding mandatory, rather than discretionary.
"We have a veterans' health care crisis throughout this country right
now," Mr. Conley said during a recent stop at the American Legion's national
headquarters in Indianapolis. With nearly 2.9 million members, the legion is
the nation's largest veterans group.
Mr. Conley, a third-generation pipefitter from Pittsburgh, has visited
more than 43 VA hospitals since becoming national commander in December. In
1996, Congress passed legislation expanding eligibility for VA medical
services, he said.
"But they didn't appropriate enough money," Mr. Conley said yesterday.
There were 4 million veterans in the VA health system before that
change. "There are 6.7 million in the system today," he said.
Mr. Conley wrote that the "philosophy of a VA for all veterans was
great, but paying for it was a different story."
"That's how we got into the rationing of health care. That's what you
do when you don't have enough to go around. You ration," he said.
In his article, titled "A System Worth Saving," the commander writes:
"Our government designed the system, asked veterans to enroll in it and now
fails to cover the cost. It is America's most underfunded mandate.
"Staff shortages are epidemic, facility improvements are paralyzed, and
the time it takes to get in to see a VA doctor is unconscionable," Mr.
Conley added.
Discretionary budget authority for the Department of Veterans Affairs
would increase to $28.1 billion in fiscal 2004, up from $25.4 billion this
year. "But the VA system needs an additional $1.5 billion to $3 billion" to
serve veterans in a timely manner, the legion commander said.
Rep. Christopher H. Smith, New Jersey Republican and chairman of the
House Veterans Affairs Committee, is sponsoring a bill that would make VA
funding mandatory. Mr. Conley said most Americans are shocked to learn that
funding for veterans' health care is not already mandatory.
"It's always been discretionary. Congress likes having the power to
control where money goes and who gets so much," said the commander.
However, Leo S. Mackay Jr., deputy secretary of the Department of
Veterans Affairs said the problem is chiefly due to the crush in demand
caused by the 1996 legislation that allowed all veterans - not just those
suffering service-related illnesses - to qualify for VA care.
The veteran population keeps growing. The American Legion estimates
that every year there are approximately 300,000 new veterans. Eventually,
they will require medical care.
Not surprisingly, there is a tremendous backlog of veterans waiting for
VA to serve them.
"The VA secretary says they are making progress toward correcting the
problem, but I believe that when we're talking about progress from 300,000
to 200,000, there's still far too many people waiting to get through the
system. One is too many," he said.
Let's Roll!
Go Marines Go Army Go Navy Go Air Force!!
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Rent DVDs from home.
Over 14,500 titles. Free Shipping
& No Late Fees. Try Netflix for FREE!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/BVVfoB/hP.FAA/uetFAA/BefplB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
equismetastock-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
|