Larry Scott (former E-5) served four-plus
years in the U.S.
Army with overseas tours as a Broadcast
Journalist at AFKN HQ, Seoul, Korea and AFN
Lajes Field, The Azores, Portugal and a stateside
tour as a Broadcast Journalism Instructor
at the Defense Information School (DINFOS).
Larry was decorated four times including the
Joint Service Commendation Medal with Oak
Leaf Cluster. He was awarded DOD's First Place
Thomas Jefferson Award for Excellence in Journalism.
After the Army, Larry went back to radio news,
working in Indianapolis as a News Anchor on
WIFE Radio and then in New York City as a
News Anchor on WNBC Radio. He receives VA
compensation for a service-connected disability
and uses the Portland, Oregon/Vancouver, Washington
VA facilities for healthcare. Today, Larry
resides in Southwest Washington and operates
the veteran's help website YourVABenefits.org.
To contact Larry Scott email larry@yourvabenefits.org.
During an election campaign the
cry of "four more years" elicits cheers from some and jeers from
others. After the election "four more years" transitions from concept
to reality. Now that we have the reality, what does it mean for
the VA?
During the last four years we have seen the literal "gutting" of
VA healthcare benefits and mind-boggling delays for veterans seeking
healthcare.
Priority
Group 8 veterans are now denied enrollment thus eliminating
more than 500,000 veterans from benefit and healthcare rolls. This
is nothing more than a cost-saving measure and an arbitrarily cruel
punishment. Is one ill veteran less important than another?
Many veterans in various Priority Groups find themselves having
to pay for VA healthcare. A means
test is applied and if the veteran's income is over $24,644
a year co-payments kick in. In simple terms, if a veteran makes
over $11.85 an hour, they pay. It is nearly impossible to live on
$11.85 an hour much less pay for healthcare. The co-payments also
apply if the veteran's net worth is over $80,000. The median value
of a home in the United States in 2000 was $119,600. That has gone
up in the last four years. Again, simply stated, if a veteran owns
a home the co-payments apply.
Hundreds of thousands of veterans have applied for benefits and
healthcare during the last four years. These are veterans who are
unemployed or under-employed and find that they now have no healthcare
and no way of paying for it. Also in the group are veterans who
have found that they cannot afford their medications under Medicare
and now use the VA pharmacy services. This was not anticipated by
the VA and they have been slow to react and the solution has created
a bigger problem. These hundreds of thousands of veterans were waiting
as long as 30 months to get enrolled in the VA system to see a doctor.
So, the VA hired more clerks to process enrollment. They did NOT
hire more doctors, nurses and necessary medical personnel to treat
these veterans. Now the waiting lists are INSIDE the VA system.
Veterans wait months for necessary surgeries and critical diagnostic
procedures. No funding has been allocated to hire additional medical
staff.
With such a disastrous record during the last four years, what can
we expect from the VA during the next four years?
Expect more cuts in the area of eligibility. Already under discussion:
Denying enrollment to Priority Group 7 veterans and higher co-payments
in every area of the system.
Look for longer waits inside the system for every type of service.
The VA is not hiring needed doctors, nurses, technicians and other
workers who perform and support direct healthcare. To get a good
look at this go to http://www.usajobs.com
and peruse the unfilled medical positions at EVERY VA facility.
When will these positions be filled? With ongoing hiring freezes
and no budget, one VA Public Affairs Officer told me, "Maybe in
the Spring of 2005."
Watch as long-term plans interfere with immediate needs. The VA's
CARES Report
has been accepted. This is a 20-year plan to construct more buildings.
This while current VA facilities are under-used, empty or being
leased out for other purposes. There is no immediate plan to request
more funding to hire necessary medical personnel.
Be prepared for cuts in VA funding. A leaked White House document
reported a $910 million cut in the 2006 VA budget. Although the
White House backed-off on the dollar amount in this document
they did not back-off on the stated intent. Cuts are
on the way.
And, you can be sure that under-funding will continue to hamper
VA healthcare services. The FY
2005 VA budget submissions ask for a ridiculously low 5.8% increase.
This covers all areas of the budget. The requested increase for
direct healthcare is a disastrous 1.9%. This will not cover inflationary
pressures much less provide any funding to hire the doctors, nurses
and other medical personnel needed to ensure quality healthcare
without long waiting lists.
"Four more years" does not paint a pleasing picture for our
Nation's veterans. Rhetoric and bumper stickers have given way to
reality. We now face a healthcare disaster in the VA system if adequate
funding is not immediately forthcoming. Since the VA hierarchy is
not asking for proper funding and Congress hasn't picked up the
slack, there is only one remaining option. As veterans, we must
push for Full and Mandatory VA Funding as outlined in Senate
Bill 50. This bill moves VA funding from the discretionary to
the mandatory portion of the federal budget.
Newly re-elected President George W. Bush has promised to "reach
out" to all the people. He has spoken about bi-partisan efforts
to move the Country forward. It will take a true bi-partisan effort
to pass Full and Mandatory VA Funding. Please urge your elected
representatives of both parties to work to this end.
Fiscal Year 2005 is here. There is no budget. The VA will continue
to curtail spending. The hiring freeze at the Portland/Vancouver
VA, and others, will continue, perhaps into next spring. Secretary
Principi has requested a 5.8 percent increase in the VA
budget submissions for 2005. But most of that increase is NOT
for health care -- the requested health care increase is 1.9 percent.
This cannot even begin to pay for increased costs in supplies, fuel
and other tangibles. What this means is that FEWER real dollars
are being requested for healthcare in 2005.
