washingtonscene
For more information about how to contact lawmakers and your local VA officials, please visit the VA’s Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs website at www
.va.gov/oca.
4. Ensure enrolled veterans get care closer to home (move to a clinical eligi- bility standard rather than the current 30-day/40-mile rule). 5. Optimize coordination with other health insurance coverage the veteran might have. The VA would establish a “Primary Coordinator of Benefits” posi- tion to manage the effort. 6. Maintain affordability for the lowest income-level veterans. 7. Assist veterans supported by multiple providers with a VA primary coordinator of care across the system (in-house or community care). 8. Apply industry standards for perfor- mance, health standards, quality, pay- ment, etcetera.
Committee members spent significant time questioning Shulkin, the VA inspec- tor general, and Government Account- ability Office witnesses; expressing their concerns; and seeking more information about the secretary’s plans. Consensus prevailed on multiple
fronts, including the need to immediately extend the Choice Act. Shulkin said the best thing to come out of the Choice Program was helping “millions of veterans — over 5,000 ex- clusively through Choice and 1.2 million veterans using a combination of both VA and community care.” The way forward will be expensive
and take time. VA projects a $3.4 billion deficit next year in community care if Choice goes away. Additionally, strong leadership com- mitment, modern electronic health re- cord and IT systems, and investment in personnel are necessary for successful implementation. House Veterans Affairs Committee Chair Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) told the sec- retary addressing the problems in VA health care is one of the most important
32 MILITARY OFFICER MAY 2017
things Congress must do. He said: “I look forward to solving the problems. They are huge and not easy, but I’m optimistic solutions can be found.” Engaging your representatives and legislators on Capitol Hill and in the VA is critically important to effecting posi- tive change — please continue to keep your lawmakers and local VA officials ap- prised of your experiences with VA care.
Shulkin’s VA Modernization
V
Plans Secretary David Shulkin outlines his 10-point plan.
A Secretary Dr. David Shulkin laid out a 10-point plan for improving veterans’
health care — and it doesn’t include a move toward privatization. “One of the things … you’re hearing a lot in the news is, ‘Why do we need the VA health care system? Why can’t we figure out ways that the private sector can just take over this role for us?’ ” he said during a Dis- abled American Veterans (DAV) conference outside Washington, D.C. “The VA system is a very, very differ-
ent system than what you would see in the private sector,” Shulkin continued. Still, there’s a lot of room for improve- ment at the VA, he said, including the need to make it easier for veterans to seek care close to home. These improve- ments are vital after trust in the depart- ment plunged in 2014 after a series of news stories broke about veterans facing long wait times for care. “Our currency is your trust,” Shulkin told the DAV members. “We understand
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