Chairman Sanders Lays Out Legislative Action Plan for Veterans
Senator Bernie Sanders, June 1, 2014
Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today outlined a comprehensive legislative package to address “reprehensible” behavior by VA officials and to correct underlying problems in access to medical care.
“There must be a culture of honesty and accountability within the VA and people who have lied or manipulated data must be punished. But we also have to get to the root causes of the problems that have been exposed. The simple truth is that with 2 million more veterans coming into the system in recent years there are many facilities within the VA that do not have the doctors, nurses and other personnel that they need to provide quality care in a timely way.”
Sanders said a Thursday hearing of the veterans committee will consider the Restoring Veterans’ Trust Act of 2014. The measure then could be put on a fast track for consideration by the full Senate. It would give the VA authority to immediately remove senior executives based on poor job performance while preventing wholesale political firings. It would provide veterans who can’t get timely appointments with VA doctors the option of going to community health centers, military hospitals or private doctors. It would authorize VA to lease 27 new health facilities in 18 states. It would authorize emergency funding to hire new doctors, nurses and other providers in order to address system-wide health care provider shortages and to take other steps necessary to ensure timely access to care. To address primary care doctor shortage for the long-term, the bill would authorize the National Health Service Corps to award scholarships to medical school students and to forgive college loans for doctors and nurses who go to work at the VA.
Altogether, the bill would provide education, retirement security and other benefits for millions of veterans and their families. Virtually all of the provisions already have been approved by the Senate committee, many of them by unanimous votes, during previous legislative markup sessions.
Sanders said the need for congressional action was underscored last Wednesday when the VA’s independent Office of Inspector General found that officials had lied about wait times for appointments at the Phoenix VA and other medical facilities. A separate audit delivered to President Barack Obama on Friday disclosed attempts by VA employees at two-thirds of VA hospitals and clinics to cover up delays in providing patient care.
http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/chairman-sanders-lays-out-legislative-action-plan-for-veterans
THE RESTORING VETERANS’ TRUST ACT OF 2014: http://www.sanders.senate.gov/download/restoringveteranstrustact2014?inline=file
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VA Scandal Gives Single-Payer Opponents Ammunition
By Brianna Ehley
The Fiscal Times, May 27, 2014
The ongoing scandal at the Veterans Affairs Department has forced the idea of government-managed health care into the spotlight, with opponents pointing to the VA’s failures as an example of what could happen if the country were to adopt government run health care or a single payer insurance policy on a larger scale.
Larry Kudlow of the Kudlow Report was quick to pounce on the VA scandal as testament to what goes wrong when you adopt socialized medicine. “This VA scandal is a reminder that government-run single-payer health care does not work.”
However, single payer advocates say what’s happening at the VA isn’t relevant to single payer at all, since the VA is completely government-run and in a single- payer system, the delivery of care would remain largely in the private sector’s hands.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, the independent Senator from Vermont and potential 2016 presidential contender, has been a leading advocate of a single-payer health care system for years. Last week, Sanders led a panel discussion on Capitol Hill over the future of single payer, since his home state of Vermont is expected to serve as a single payer guinea pig for other states.
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2014/05/27/VA-Scandal-Gives-Single-Payer-Opponents-Ammunition
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Comment:
By Don McCanne, MD
To no surprise, opponents of government involvement in health care have jumped on the malfeasance exposed at the Veterans Health Administration as proof that the government can’t do anything right. Many have expanded that by saying that this is proof that a single payer health care system cannot work – a non sequitur if there ever was one. This nonproductive awfulizing that is taking place (imagining horrific situations and outcomes that don’t yet exist) is a totally inappropriate response when what we need is intervention to correct the deficiencies. Fortunately Sen. Bernie Sanders understands that.
The problem provoking the current furor is the tolerance and mismanagement of excessive queues. It is well within our capabilities to reduce queues to acceptable levels. More attention should be given to queue management (the process that reduced long lines at airports after 9/11). Capacities within the system need to be adjusted. Often small expenditures directed to increasing capacity can dramatically reduce queues. Reinforcing primary care has long been recognized as a priority, yet members of Congress sit on their duffs. Perhaps this will awaken some members to the need to fulfill their responsibilities to the people.
In February, Sen. Sanders submitted a bill to Congress designed to improve the functioning of the VA health system. It was blocked by the Republican Senators. Sen. Sanders is now using the political capital created by this mismanagement in an effort to enact The Restoring Veterans’ Trust Act of 2014. It not only addresses the queues, but it also establishes other important policies designed to improve the functioning of the VA health system. Although he may be able to gain enough Republican support to pass this bill in the Senate, some Republican members of the House this weekend said that we do not have the money required to implement the proposals. Of course that is nonsense. With midterm elections around the corner, the Republicans are going to have to decide whether they want to take the blame for refusing to act on behalf of our veterans.
This really is about what we are as a country. Do we take care of our veterans, or do we move forward with efforts to defund the government so it will drown in a bathtub? We have our choice of politicians who will align themselves with one side or the other. In a democracy, it is up to the voters to decide which politicians we want representing us. So, what do we support, social solidarity or trashing of our revered government institutions?
