http://www.veteranstoday.com/2015/03/25/sarah-palin-va/
http://www.mrt.com/news/article_1360cbf8-cc6f-11e4-b5e0-53d09b0dc3c7.html#ixzz3Ur1In5Hv
http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/03/sadly_nothing_has_changed_at_the_veterans_administ.html
Somebody needs to do something productive.
Gawd knows the current admin has only managed to make what was, in many places a marginal system, worse.
Vouchers to pay for private health care seems reasonable at the very least. Especially when in-system care is being delayed to the extent that it is in so many areas currently.
And despite what the VT editorial board apparently thinks of Sarah Palin, at least she's out front saying something about the deplorable management practices, and offering an alternative.
The fact that they came up with that headline for the info in that article tells me more about the politics of Veterans Today than it does anything else.
My opinion of VT is that it is cut from the same bolt of cloth that AARP, WWF, and most other "advocacy" groups are. I've said it for a long time: read Michael Crichton's "State of Fear". These agencies, politicians, lawyers, and the Press thrive on fear. They are fear mongers. They create problems where no problems exist, and attempt to defend the status quo whenever the status quo keeps The People riled up because of fear.
The VA's medical arm needs to be ABOLISHED. There is NO good reason for it to exist. It is redundant, expensive, wasteful and ineffective. In other words, a perfect example of what kind of a job government normally does when it tries to do something it shouldn't.
Paul
http://dailycaller.com/2015/03/26/lawmakers-outraged-that-va-official-of-mangled-project-will-retire-with-full-benefits/
I realize that in the past, the VA has been a lifeline for many Vets with little else to rely on medically.
But lately, I find it hard to believe ANYONE would try and defend the actions of the people at the top of that mess.
I don't think the VA should have had a "medical program" EVER. The concept - that Vets need 'different' medical services - is a straw man used to create ANOTHER government agency. There is no reason on God's earth that a vet - regardless of their wounds or handicap - couldn't be seen by the same medical personnel that see civilians with the same maladies. While the CAUSE of diseases like Agent Orange may be unique to military personnel, the diseases caused - primarily cancer - are NOT. TREATMENT isn't "special".
There is a simple and SMART solution that would save BILLIONS of dollars and SERVE THE VETERAN BETTER: "Veteran's Insurance". Period. NOTHING more is needed. When a Vet goes to the doctor and they ask "What is your insurance?", the Vet answers "Veteran's". The doctor bills the government JUST LIKE THEY DO EVERYONE ELSE. The ENTIRE "medical program" of the Veteran's Administration could be ELIMINATED.
There is NO non-socialist, make-more-government, excuse for what we have now. NONE.
Paul