The VA scandal (as celebrated by Colbert last night) is a good stand in for the challenges facing government in our era. By most accounts, the agency does a good job of delivering health care to people already in the system. The problem is access. As well as the challenges of modernizing facilities and record keeping. Congress is not willing to spend the kind of money that will be required. So, like most government agencies, VA patches together operations with outcomes that are sometimes absurd. The problem for Congress is the costs are about to get much higher and probably so for the next twenty years (and this is on top of the modernization costs) because of two factors, demographics and the number of veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The demographic problem is across the board in government, the problem of so many baby boomers demanding all sorts of services. As we age, our health care costs go up substantially. On the issue of access, the VA will need at least $8 billion for construction alone, according to recent testimony. This issue is a stand in for how each party views government. The anti-government crowd sees the VA in isolation (just like IHS). But if you pull back the lens and look at all government, there might be a way of moving forward. According to the Urban Institute According to an Urban Institute ten percent of the nation’s 12.5 million non-elderly veterans do not have health coverage. So one way Congress could fix that: Push Medicaid expansion. Insurance would open up other medical care options than the VA. But that solution is not even in the current debate. The scandal is not the management of the VA, an agency whos mission is larger than its resources. The scandal is the United States of America makes promises that it does not fund. Sound familiar Indian Country? (Cross posted with Trahant Reports.)
Posted on: Fri, 23 May 2014 13:48:19 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015