Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry.

[compforce]

We're just going to have to disagree on this. There's no mechanism to change the discretionary spending in the budget after it has been approved.

But again, I think the VA budget for care/facilities/providers (not administrators) should be higher. (We also need community care options expanded, amongst other things.)

I'd be perfectly happy to have the VA's health care budget REDUCED in favor of an insurance model that paid for all procedures, prescriptions, etc. to be performed by private practitioners. I know that supposedly exists in some form somewhere, but I've never actually seen it in practice. We shouldn't have to fight for benefits. Lawyers that specialize in getting benefits for Veterans shouldn't even be a thing. I have ZERO faith in the VA health system.

 

[compforce]

The "72 hour rule" should be mandatory, not a rule of thumb.

As opposed to discretionary?

 

[Cookie_]

I'd be perfectly happy to have the VA's health care budget REDUCED in favor of an insurance model that paid for all procedures, prescriptions, etc. to be performed by private practitioners. I know that supposedly exists in some form somewhere, but I've never actually seen it in practice. We shouldn't have to fight for benefits. Lawyers that specialize in getting benefits for Veterans shouldn't even be a thing. I have ZERO faith in the VA health system.

That's sadly one of the amendments that got shot down. I think it would reduce the VA's operational budget and improve quality of care if those rules were expanded. The current community care rules are pretty limiting on who can use them.

Under the 4th criteria for community care:

In this situation, VA is unable to schedule an appointment that is within both average driving time standards and wait time standards. For average drive time to a specific VA medical facility, the access standards are:

• 30-minute average drive time for primary care, mental health, and non-institutional extended care services (including adult day health care)
• 60-minute average drive time for specialty care

For appointment wait times at a specific VA medical facility, the access standards are:

• 20 days for primary care, mental health care, and non-institutional extended care services, unless the Veteran agrees to a later date in consultation with their VA health care provider
• 28 days for specialty care from the date of request, unless the Veteran agrees to a later date in consultation with their VA health care provider

For instance, if you are a Veteran and live 10 miles from the nearest VA primary care provider, but it takes you over an hour to drive there on average due to heavy traffic, you would be eligible for community care.

I'd be perfectly fine with the VA just being a department that just paid out benefits instead of running health care facilities.

 

[RackMaster]

I'd be perfectly fine with the VA just being a department that just paid out benefits instead of running health care facilities.

That is exactly how ours was run, they still fucked it up and instead contracted out to Blue Cross to manage benefits.

 

[pardus]