I don’t understand why anyone would go to a VA hospital for anything.
There are plenty of hospitals that would have treated them regardless of their ability to pay.
My Dad went for assistance that didn’t require hospitalization. If you go to the VA website, it lists all of the State VA facilities.
In my opinion it is the Federal Government’s responsibility to oversee and make sure that these Veterans are receiving proper and up-to-date treatment at whatever facility. They did not fight for a “state war”. They fought for the United States of America.