Posted on 02/01/2017 7:55:48 PM PST by Olog-hai
Physician David Shulkin headed toward likely confirmation as President Donald Trump’s veterans affairs secretary, after offering repeated assurances Wednesday to sometimes skeptical senators that he will work quickly to meet the medical care needs of millions of veterans without dismantling the beleaguered department.
At his confirmation hearing, Shulkin, the top health official at the Department of Veterans Affairs since 2015, cited efforts during his tenure to improve wait times for veterans needing urgent care, such as same-day services in primary care and mental health at VA medical centers. He urged a more integrated VA network in which veterans could seek outside care, but only in close coordination with the VA.
“VA is a unique national resource that is worth saving, and I am committed to doing just that,” Shulkin said. “There will be far greater accountability, dramatically improved access, responsiveness and expanded care options.” …
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
A better idea would be to immediately give all Vets unlimited private sector healthcare, and slowly shut down and sell the VA facilities.
Kill another Washington D.C. beast!
Home loans? Give it to the states?
Take us out from under ObamaCare for a start...
Unless and until the AFGE is disbanded any effort at VA reform will fail.
Career Ret. Military are usually Tricare Prime and a secondary. Many are a combo due to their ages as couples. There is a 7 yr difference in mine hand hubby’s age, I was on Champus until I had to go on Disability due to health.
Over 65 and you are Medicare/Tricare Life. Lots of restrictions and DOD and Medicare Mandates.
Hearing aids are cosmetic items not necessities unless it is a Military disability. Same goes for glasses. Need your uneven badly done cataract implants fixed, Lasix is the way it’s done, and that is a Cosmetic process. My hearing aids at the low end were $3400. Glasses yearly $500. Because my cataract implants were done to far apart and came with astigmatism, vision was no longer fixable with glasses, as they could not correct the left eye better than 20/60 I had to have Lasix to correct it, no redoing cataract implants or piggy backing them. Cheaper to do Lasix. It’s a COSMETIC $5K procedure and I’ll still need bifocals as best they can correct is 20/30. So another $500 for new bifocals in 3 months. And that does not count the cost of lubricant eye drops for Dry Eye Syndrome both procedures cause. About $200 a year for those. Not covered under prescription. Or the $160 eyelid oil gland scrub I’ll need every year to keep them open. Not a covered medical expense.
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