In January, the Department of Veterans Affairs released draft standards that would determine how veterans access medical care under the VA MISSION Act’s community care program.
These new standards would open up more health care options for more veterans and make the VA more veteran-centric going forward.
Sounds great, right?
Not if you favor bureaucracy over veterans’ wellbeing.
Since the proposed standards were released, some in Congress have come forward to urge veterans to oppose these new rules.
Their false attacks and scare tactics are meant to keep the status quo at the VA and limit the options veterans have in accessing medical care.
But let’s not forget what this conversation should actually be about: veterans. CVA’s Dan Caldwell recently wrote in The Hill:
It’s not about privatizing or destroying the VA. Rather, it’s about the veteran. It’s about making the VA one of the options for veterans seeking quality care, not the only option. It is important to note, under the law and these draft standards, veterans will still have the option to stay in the VA health care system, and it should be a quality option for them.
With the proposed standards, more veterans will be able to obtain more consistent, reliable and timely access to health care that suits their unique situations. It puts our veterans in the driver’s seat and reorients the VA toward serving the veteran rather than itself.
Policy that puts the needs of veterans first – that sounds good to us!
Read more of Dan Caldwell’s op-ed on why the VA MISSION Act is so important to veterans!