VA healthcare poised for restructuring (began under slick willie)

In light of hanoi john' saying Dubya is cutting vet services we need more info to counter it.

http://www.fra.org/mil-up/milup-archive/11-16-00-milup.html

Health Chief: TRICARE for Elderly Doesn't Mean Enrollment in Prime November 16, 2000 Service elderly will gain access to TRICARE Standard, which in stateside areas will become a ``second payer'' plan, or insurance supplement, to Medicare. Overseas, where Medicare is unavailable, 25,000 elderly beneficiaries will begin using TRICARE Standard next October as their primary medical insurance. But that ``doesn't mean,'' said Clinton, ``that [elderly] have automatic access to an MTF [Military Treatment Facility] or to a program that's a sub-component of TRICARE'' such as TRICARE Prime. ``To the extent that we can make that available, after we decide what our size and our mission ought to be...we can't determine that. So it's not an enrollment process.'' A concern, besides time, is cost. Opening TRICARE to service elderly could add $3 billion to the fiscal 2002 defense health budget. A more robust pharmacy benefit for seniors, which begins April 1, will cost $400 million next year and $800 million in 2002. One way to hold down TRICARE costs is to keep beneficiaries 65 and older out of the military health care system so Medicare serves as their primary insurance and TRICARE as second payer. Enrolling tens of thousands of beneficiaries 65 and older in TRICARE Prime would have a reverse effect. Persons 65 and older, said Clinton, incur medical costs at three to four the rate of all other military beneficiaries.

In light of hanoi john' saying Dubya is cutting vet services we need more info to counter it...it's been a while so unfortunately I don't recall details, but I remember one story of how Clinton pulled a ropadope with the VA early in his administration - when trying to cut costs for his budget, naturally with the military but not with his social givaway programs like midnight basketball, he called in the head of the VA at the time (could've been the famous Max Cleland) and explained that he was going to take a big cut out of VA in the coming year, but promised on his word of honor to restore all cuts and give back even more in future budgets - of course, being Clinton, he never did.

Somebody with a better memory or more patience with a search engine may be able to fill in some of the blanks - it would be sweet to be able to link Kerry's henchman Cleland with going along with a big VA cut by Clinton......

I was hoping some one with more patience than I could did up some more.

http://www.heritage.org/Research/Budget/BG928.cfm

Budget Gimmicks

The Clinton plan also contains a startling number of accounting tricks and phony assumptions to generate savings. The budget magically assumes $1 billion of savings through better management of Veterans Administration hospitals.

http://www.factcheck.org/article.aspx?docID=144

In the Feb. 15 Democratic debate, Kerry suggested that Bush was being unpatriotic: “He’s cut the VA (Veterans Administration) budget and not kept faith with veterans across this country. And one of the first definitions of patriotism is keeping faith with those who wore the uniform of our country.”

It is true that Bush is not seeking as big an increase for next year as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs wanted. It is also true that the administration has tried to slow the growth of spending for veterans by not giving new benefits to some middle-income vets.

Yet even so, funding for veterans is going up twice as fast under Bush as it did under Clinton. And the number of veterans getting health benefits is going up 25% under Bush's budgets. That's hardly a cut.

It's Time To Put Up Or Step Down At The Veterans Administration

By Rick Weidman, Director, Government Relations

http://www.vva.org/TheVeteran/1999_11/govrel.htm

http://cmax.myonlinepublication.com/article.asp?pop_id=106&article_id=161

Here is the truth:

The President's budget calls for a record 63.6 billion for veterans' benefits that includes an 8% increase of Veterans’ 'discretionary funding', which pays for the much needed veterans' health care programs offered by the Veterans Administration. More then this, the total budget reflects an increase that is 32% above 2001 levels - those budgeted by the Clinton Administration.

Like all accomplished liars, the Democrats have woven a bit of truth into their brew to come up with this particular attack. It seems that there was some talk about federal agencies being asked to cut 1% of their budgets. While this would have cut the increase in V.A. funding, it would still have left a record agency budget in place. Nevertheless, all of this became moot when the Republican controlled congress exempted the V. A. from any funding cuts.

http://www.house.gov/chrissmith/news/old_releases/pr022499.html

VA Official Calls Cuts in Clinton's Vet Budget "Staggering" Smith continues fight for Central Jersey veterans

Washington - The regional director of the Clinton Administration's Veterans Administration said that if the President's budget was implemented, there would be Asubstantial loss," and the effects would be "staggering" and "fairly draconian."

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Vice Chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, questioned top VA officials at a Congressional hearing on veterans health care. Smith has been fighting to block proposed cuts in veterans health care services and has been working for the restoration and protection of a number of services at the Brick clinic in Ocean County.

"After today's Veterans' Affairs Health Subcommittee hearing, we are now to the point where the Clinton Administration's own lieutenants are admitting that their boss's budget would not be good for veterans," said Smith following the hearing.

James Farsetta, Director of the Veterans Integrated Service Network Three (VISN 3) and Dr. Thomas Garthwaite, the VA's Deputy Under Secretary for Health answered Congressman Smith's questions on the impact Clinton's Fiscal Year 2000 budget would have on veterans health care in New Jersey. VISN 3 includes VA health care services in parts of New Jersey and New York -- making Farsetta in charge of Central and Northern Jersey's health care services for veterans. Farsetta made his strong comments about the $963 million shortfall in what the VA requested for health care services and what Clinton has proposed for next year.

"New Jersey has over 713,000 veterans -- 60,000 of whom reside in Ocean County," Smith stated. "The Brick clinic alone cares for an average of 40,000 patient visits per year. Specialty services need to be provided for these Central Jersey veterans."

Director Farsetta said that the Brick clinic Areflects the direction the VA is moving in," and that the clinic was "efficient." That not withstanding, Deputy Under Secretary Garthwaite stated that the cuts to the region would present Areal challenges" and are "out of proportion."

"The message is out that veterans need and deserve quality health care services in Central Jersey," Smith said. "It is encouraging that top VA brass in Washington and New Jersey feel that the Administration's budget is a bad deal for veterans. Now we need to ensure that the proposed cuts by their boss never see the light of day."

The Department of Veterans Affairs will receive a record budget of $64 billion for the current fiscal year, up $4.2 billion from the previous spending level.

"I'm grateful for President Bush's leadership in ensuring that VA can honor our nation's commitment to its veterans," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi. "I'm also appreciative of the support Congress has shown when it comes to taking care of veterans."

The budget for fiscal year 2004, which began Oct. 1 comes as VA is putting the finishing touches on the administration's proposed budget for fiscal year 2005, which will be formally unveiled Monday.

Among the major items in fiscal year 2004 budget are $28.4 billion for health care, up $2.9 billion from the previous year, and $32.8 billion in benefits programs. Other budgetary categories include:

* $143.4 million for the National Cemetery Administra-tion, an $11 million hike over last year, plus nearly $32 million in grants for state cemeteries;

* Full funding to expedite the handling of veterans' claims for disability compensation and pensions -- a total of $1 billion for all programs;

* Nearly $176 million for health care and other programs to assist homeless veterans, an increase of over $22 million from fiscal year 2003;

* $101 million to support state extended-care facilities, $3 million more than last year; and

* $522 million for construction, plus the authority to transfer another $400 million to health care construction.

"This budget will ensure the VA is able to meet the needs of the latest generation of combat vets who are now returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan, while continuing to care for those from earlier conflicts," Principi said.

source: http://www.dcmilitary.com/army/pentagram/9_04/national_news/27317-1.html

Wow! Great job Gail..

I've heard a lot of complaints about the CARES system. Never had to deal with it so it's all been hearsay.

VA Bump

btt

ping

Have been trying to locate a graph I recall showing a big dip in funds earmarked for the VA during the middle of the Clinton years, but have been unable to - best I've been able to do is a few articles like this Link complaining about Clinton's designating $17.3 billion /year for the third straight year in 1998, compared to the billions more now just a few years later under Bush

Will keep looking (it turns out Cleland was chief of the VA under Carter, so won't have the fun of blaming him for cuts under Clinton).......