Legion statement regarding Commission on Care report

Legion statement regarding Commission on Care report

The Commission on Care, a 15-member panel tasked by Congress with trying to fix the Veterans Health Administration, released its report Monday. Click here for the complete report.

The American Legion issued the following statement following the release of the report.

The American Legion appreciates the hard work from all of the commission members and we look forward to working with this administration and the incoming Congress and administration to ensure veterans are provided with the high level of expert health care that they have earned.

The American Legion has always maintained that increased privatization of veteran health care services is not in the best interest of veterans or the American taxpayer. While we are still reviewing the complete report, we note that the Commission had a very limited interaction with veterans who actually use Veterans Affairs (VA) health care, and even less time spent in VA facilities.

The report also based many of their recommendations on outdated information. Over the past two years, VA has transformed customer service, community engagement, and lessened wait times while seeing more patients than ever before. The Commission’s report seems to focus only on the abilities of the VA prior to the new leadership taking over more than two years ago.

We believe that recommendations of privatization that some are trying to mask as “Choice” fail to take into consideration that veterans already have a myriad of choices, more so than most Americans. Choosing to see a contracted primary care physician as opposed to a VA primary care physician is a choice most veterans using VA health care already have through their private insurance, Tricare, Medicare, Medicaid or several other options. These “choices” also come with additional expenses to the veteran. Converting VA health care to an insurance payer will increase out-of-pocket expenses for veterans who rely solely on VA for all of their health care needs, and who may not have alternate insurance options.

The American Legion is pleased to see the Commission address leadership succession planning and accountability as these were some of the areas The American Legion suggested when we met with the Commission.

Again, The American Legion looks forward to working with Congress, and the administration to ensure veterans are well served by our Department of Veterans Affairs.