Here is the problem with all manner of government “free” healthcare, that bears mentioning.
The more entitled government users there are the more expensive the health care for “regular folks” becomes, because medical care for “free” government users is generally not reimbursed enough to even cover the cost of services.
This drives “regular folks” out of the ranks of the insured, and/or limits the number of medical providers willing to provide services at a loss.
This VA initiative must be profitable for providers or it will kill medicine for the folks who must actually pay, or it will only sound good to those who use it - actually finding a place where they can get services will be the challenge.
“Free” is never free. Folks who get “free” rarely appreciate what things cost, and rarely care if someone else who needs medical care can afford to pay for it as long as they get theirs for “free”.
RFEngineer wrote: “Free” is never free. Folks who get “free” rarely appreciate what things cost, and rarely care if someone else who needs medical care can afford to pay for it as long as they get theirs for “free”.”
Veterans paid for their “free” health care when they served their country. They know exactly what their “free” health care cost. Too many non-veterans don’t understand that these veterans ‘pre-paid’ for their “free” health care.