Tuesday, November 20, 2018

How elections, funding fights, and union rights impact Veterans VeteransPolicy.org

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By Protecting Veterans’ Health, You May Protect Your Own
VHPI Senior Analyst Suzanne Gordon writes in The New York Times:

President Trump has insisted that “our veterans have been treated horribly” and that the V.H.A. (Veterans Health Administration) is staffed with “bad apples” who “rob us or cheat us.” Last month, in a speech at a prestigious medical conference in Cleveland, John Boehner, the former House speaker, said the Department of Veterans Affairs, of which the V.H.A. is part, is simply “hopeless.” Its hospitals “provide substandard care to our veterans who deserve the best care,” Mr. Boehner said. “If you’re a real doctor, you’re probably not working at the V.A.”

Studies have shown that private-sector doctors and hospitals are not prepared to deal with veterans’ complex needs. But foes of the V.H.A., backed by wealthy donors like the Koch brothers, want to dismantle its hospital and clinic network and contract out billions of dollars’ worth of veterans’ services to the private sector.

In June, Congress passed the VA Mission Act, which expands veterans’ access to private care and establishes a commission to determine whether to close V.A. facilities. Its members will be appointed by the president, and they could include medical industry representatives who would benefit from privatization. Congress will be unable to vote on the commission’s decisions. The head of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Robert Wilkie, perhaps influenced by a shadowy group of Trump associates nicknamed the Mar-a-Lago Crowd, is said to be developing rules that would significantly increase the number of veterans who get care outside the V.H.A.

At the same time, private-sector care is more expensive, and the president and congressional Republicans refuse to allocate the money to pay for it, so each dollar that goes to it will come out of the V.H.A. budget. This will starve the system of needed resources, leave thousands of doctor and nurse vacancies unfilled, and force hospitals and clinics to shut down. Click here to read the full article.

Take a Look

Gordon discusses President Trump’s record on veterans with DemocracyNow!
TONIGHT: Meet Suzanne and hear more about her five-year experience reporting from inside the VA. The program starts Nov. 13 at 6 p.m. at Politics and Prose at the Wharf in Washington D.C.
Upcoming Wounds of War Book Events:
  • Troy / Albany, New York on Nov. 16
  • Cambridge, Massachusetts on Nov. 19
  • Burlington, Vermont on Nov. 26
  • New York City on Nov. 28
  • St. Paul / Minneapolis on Dec. 11
  • Half Moon Bay Brewing Co., California on Dec. 13
  • Click here to see all the tour details.
Election outcomes shape veterans healthcare debate
  • Despite some wins by high-profile candidates who are veterans, the number of lawmakers on Capitol Hill who have served in the Armed Forces continues to decline. Read more at MilitaryTimes.
  • Rep. Mark Takano, who will lead the House Veterans Affairs Committee in the new Congress, lays out plans to improve veterans health including a “VA 2030” plan that will “reimagine how the VA can deliver high-quality care, improve management, ensure proper staffing and fill essential employee vacancies.” Read more at Military.com.
  • Democrats are planning to address VA staffing levels and management issues. They also hinted they’ll take a harder line against privatization and those who would ‘profiteer’ off veterans. Read more at Government Executive.
  • Illinois Governor-Elect J.B. Pritzker has formed a Veterans Transition Team of 19 veterans, chaired by U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth. Read more at The Times.
Congress and the VA need to be held accountable
From an editorial at The Herald-Whig in Quincy, Illinois.
VA facilities in Illinois have an 11 percent vacancy rate. In Iowa the rate is 12 percent, and in Missouri it is 15 percent. Montana has the nation's highest staffing shortage at 21 percent.
Staffing shortages are not new. The VHA lost about 5,900 employees in 2011. During 2015 the exodus hit 7,700 retirements or other departures.
Last year the Government Accountability Office reported that a federal hiring freeze made the VA's hiring problem worse. Doctors were exempt from the freeze, but there were not enough trained workers in the recruitment office to hire the needed physicians.
Other government reports indicate that doctors, nurses and dentists are hard to find because pay at VA facilities is lower than in the private sector.
Quick Clicks
  • Fox59.com: Suicide rates up among younger veterans.
  • InsiderLouisville.com: Healthcare system attracts veteran patients by offering assistance navigating non-VA care programs.
  • NPR: Secretary Wilkie’s review of a post-Shulkin VA.
  • Stars and Stripes: Are cuts to the VA’s budget on the horizon?
  • VAntage Point Blog: VA scientists recognized for professional achievement.
  • PewTrusts.org: How the VA tackles opioid abuse disorder.
Trump Admin. escalates VA workforce union feud
From MilitaryTimes: "Veterans Affairs officials upped their fight with union leaders on Thursday by announcing plans to end “official time” status for more than 400 department employees, calling it a waste of taxpayer funds. The move drew an immediate rebuke from the unions, who called it dangerous and potentially illegal."
The VA’s Press Release: “The move, which will improve VA’s ability to deliver health care to Veteran patients, will take effect Nov. 15 when VA repudiates certain provisions of master collective bargaining agreements VA accepted during the Obama administration with the following unions: American Federation of Government Employees, National Federation of Federal Employees, National Association of Government Employees and National Nurses United.”
From AFGE’s Response: “Union leaders and members working at VA facilities across this country ensure that our veterans are treated properly and are provided the care they are owed. They have blown the whistle on waitlist scandals, fought back against the gender pay disparity, and brought to light the rampant understaffing throughout the VA.” - AFGE National President J. David Cox, Sr.
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