In regards to health care, the VA is unique in its demands for mental health services, a consequence of routine exposure to conflict.
Former Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin pushed for expanding such services during his tenure. Suicide prevention is a top priority. About 20 U.S. veterans commit suicide every day, Shulkin said in a hearing before the House Veterans Affairs Committee last year.
Shulkin was instrumental in the revamping of the VA so that veterans with urgent primary and mental health-care needs could access same-day services.
Last month, President Donald Trump dismissed Shulkin, a former physician.
In his stead, Trump has nominated Navy Adm. Ronny Jackson, White House physician, who faces approval by the U.S. Senate.
In his search for a new VA Secretary, President Trump has said he wants to further the push toward privatization of the VA health care system, portraying it as a win-win: Greater access to healthcare for veterans and a boost to the bottom line of private healthcare networks.
The VA already has a modified program through its 2014 Veterans Choice Program, which refers patients to community-based providers if they live more than 40 miles from a VA facility or have to wait longer than 30 days for an appointment.
Unfortunately, the program has been plagued with problems resulting in dissatisfied patients and providers.
For participating physicians and hospitals, their reimbursement rate is below-cost.
When devised, the government stipulated the maximum pay to private physicians and facilities could be no more than that charged by Medicare. What it lacked to set, however, was a minimum rate.
The result is that many are paid well below the Medicare rate if at all setting the program up for failure.
Last year, more than $50 million in outpatient charges were six months past due, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Also, because the mental health system is stressed beyond capacity in both the military and civilian arenas, service members are no more likely to get an appointment with a therapist in a timely manner than are those of the private sector.
Theres also the reality that civilian therapists lack the military training and routine exposure to symptoms caused by combat such as post traumatic stress disorder and other afflictions.
Its only common sense that those who deal primarily with service members are more attuned to their needs. That therapists from the private sector could be expected to have that background does a disservice to a patients needs. And again, if these specialists are paid below rate, what is their incentive to treat veterans?
A PROGRAM of this nature can work only if both sides of the equation are treated fairly.
