Statement
Of
Vietnam Veterans of America
Presented byRichard F. Weidman
Director, Government Relations
RegardingAlternative Processes for Funding Veterans Health Care
June 3, 2004
Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) believes unless it is fixed, the veterans health care system, in which some 6.8 million veterans are enrolled across these United States, a system which provides generally pretty good to excellent care for the veterans it serves, will increasingly be unable to care for those who have borne the battle.
What do we propose? A method of funding that is adjusted annually for medical inflation. A mandatory method of funding that takes veterans health care out of the competition for dollars with scores of other discretionary programs, such as highway construction and the President’s heralded “Mission to Mars” initiative. And most importantly, a method of funding that will provide the VA with a predictable funding stream for its medical operations. Such a method of “mandatory” – or “obligatory” or “guaranteed” or “assured” funding, call it what you will – would be based on the per capita use of the VA health care system, indexed for medical inflation.
You know, there are a lot of myths about mandatory funding. It will not create a new entitlement to health care. It will change only the way the VA health care system is funded. It will not result in runaway costs, but ensure that the VA receives sufficient resources to care for veterans who use the VA health care system. Nor will Congress lose oversight. As it does with other mandatory federal programs, Congress would retain oversight of VA programs and health care services. And the VA would be held accountable for how it spends its money and how well it runs its programs.
Is passage of H.R. 2318 the answer? Maybe. (And I’d like to say here that Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) is on record as supporting this bill). And that VVA also believes that the level of spending in 1996, adjusted for inflation and per capita use, must be restored, which would add some $10 billion over and above the current amount appropriated for veterans’ health care. (See VVA White Paper at www.vva.org entitled “The Position of Vietnam Veterans of America on Health Care Funding for ALL Veterans.”) Will S. 50/H.R. 2318 pass during this session of Congress? Probably not. But if we can get the concept of mandatory funding into public discourse and onto the Congressional agenda, it will have a far better chance of gaining consideration in the next Congress.
VVA believes that some Members of Congress are genuine in their belief that two thirds of the Federal budget should not be on “automatic pilot” as they call it, and that Congress should exercise and not abdicate their right/duty under the Constitution to set spending levels each year as appropriate for each program. However, Congress has NOT done so thus far, and two successive Administrations, in collusion with the Office of Management & Budget and to some degree the leadership of one or more body of the Congress, have acted so as to hold appropriations to an unconscionable level.
In comparison with the base year of 1996, when Eligibility Reform was enacted, each veteran user on a per capita basis will receive 58 cents for each dollar that each Medicare recipient receives. Since we all know that Medicare is in great jeopardy because so many providers are leaving the system due to the insufficient funding of Medicare payments for treatment, is it any wonder that the VA health care system is falling apart from the inside as it is only getting 58 cents for each veteran user in comparison to each Medicare recipient.
To those who are resistant to the idea of mandatory funding, we say: If you have a better idea, one that will fix the system and restore the base, we’re certainly open to hearing a proposal. Because what we have now is a formula for disaster.
Veterans have earned the right to timely access to medical care. We believe it is part of the covenant between those who have worn the uniform and the government of the nation they swore to defend. This is an earned entitlement. This is not a boondoggle. VA medical care must be recognized for what it is: a continuing cost of our national defense.
Today, thousands of American troops are engaged in fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. We have a commitment to them, and to those who will come after them. Part of that commitment – part of our covenant with them – is to provide adequate health care for those who have borne the battle.
In summary there are three things that need to be done to salvage and save the VA health care system for the Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans and the veterans of future generations:
One, the Nation needs the “dough to make it go.” Or in other words, we need adequate predictable funding as described earlier in these remarks. Second, we need much, much greater accountability of senior management for best use of taxpayer dollars and for the outcomes of clinical care for each veteran. That means not handing out bonuses like popcorn and “spoils” to senior managers. (VA managers average more than $11,000 per year in these bonuses.) And third, we need a system that is systematically and determinedly a “veterans health care” system, as opposed to a general health care system that happens to be for veterans. If the VA will not start taking a complete military history on each veteran seeking medical services, and use it in the diagnosis and treatment plans, then there really is not much of a reason to keep VA. The time to start on achieving two and three is right now. If the Secretary will not impose steps that will lead to these two necessary ends to save the system, then the Congress must act to force these changes on the Veterans Health Administration.
Let me leave you with a quote from the first President of the United States. George Washington said: “The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation.”
My colleagues and I will be pleased to respond to any questions you might care to ask.
Thank you.
E-mail us at govtrelations@vva.org