VA Health Care and the Veteran Administration

In response to the Veteran Administration scandal that broke in May, 2014, you might have expected that heads would roll and the VA would shape up.  You’d be disappointed.  Only 60 people in the vast Veteran Administration bureaucracy actually lost their jobs because of their involvement in manipulating wait time numbers.

Sharon Helman, the chief administrator of the Phoenix facility, was among them, but her termination was upheld in court not because of the wait time scandal, but because she took gifts from lobbyists!  Veteran Administration bonuses also increased in the face of Congressional outrage.  Helman lost hers initially, but got it back when she successfully sued.  The VA Secretary during 2014 still managed to hang on until the spring of this year.

In the meantime, the number of veterans awaiting va health care didn’t shrink.  Instead it grew by 50 percent.  The VA says the growing wait times are attributable to soaring demand for medical services, brought on by the aging of Viet Nam veterans, the opening of new treatment centers, and a combination of younger veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and exploding demand for costly new Hepatitis-C drugs.

Hepatitis-C is a liver disease which can lead to HIV, cancer, and death.  A 12 week course of treatment with one of the new drugs can cost $84,000.  In case you haven’t heard, the country is experiencing a Hepatitis-C epidemic, not only among veterans but also among the general population, particularly in Appalachia.  Some 60% of Viet Nam veterans test positive for the disease, acquired from transfusions and blood contact in combat or training. Overall, one in ten veterans are infected.

Veteran Administration Partial Solutions to the VA Health Care Problem

The wait time crisis was supposed to be partially solved by a supplemental appropriation last summer of over $16 billion for the VA, the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act.  The Act created a Choice Care program, with Choice Cards veterans could use to obtain private care.   However, implementing the program included setting up panels to ration treatment, which caused an uproar within the VA itself.  A relatively small amount of the money has been used for Choice Cards, and the VA wants to take a big chunk of it to offset its operating deficit.

Representative Mike Coffman (R – Colorado), a vocal critic of the new VA Secretary, said, “This is an organization that is so incompetently led that they can’t even tell us how much any given procedure costs, so it doesn’t surprise me that they can’t manage their existing resources to better serve veterans with va health care.”  The crisis in veterans’ care continues.

Attorney Stanley D. Prowse is a Military Advocate Lawyer dedicated to serving those that have served their country with in the military.

By Stanley D. Prowse 2015

Review     By  Jaret Johnston  22-Nov-16  

    I consulted with Mr. Prowse to begin an Agricultural enterprise in late 2015. I am very impressed with his knowledge and experience, and the personal way with which he conducted his practice. He did for me and my corporation a great service and I feel lucky to have found Mr. Prowse. I would absolutely recommend his services to any friends and family who would be seeking legal advice or representation. I am also impressed how Mr. Prowse’s wife, Joy, is a great asset for the office as the social reception and the smile you see upon entering.

If you find this article helpful, Please leave us a Review here.