via Gerald Alan Ney
Carol Wild Scott is a lawyer who has been working with VHCMA (Vietnam Helicopter Crew Member Assoc) for approximately 15 years.
The following is quoted from her article in the July/August 2019 issue of the VHCMA Newsletter:
"The VA has not been improving as many would like it to be. There are still many issues with medical care and the rollout of the Mission Act has not gone as smoothly as many would like.
As I discussed during the workshop at the reunion, the entire premise of the Act was that a VA private provider network would come into place to provide for improved health care.
Unfortunately for that plan, the private provider network has not materialized. VA declined to offer payment in excess of Medicare rates to said private providers and that seems to be the end of that. I researched the extent of participation in my part of Virginia and found that aside from a practice in Winchester that is essentially a 'medicare mill,' only a few nurse practitioners and psychologists signed on. No one in West Virginia chose to participate, nor many in other states. So despite the relaxation od access standards (wait time/mileage), there are a lot of problems.
The Senate has taken up a bill - S785, which is geared to improve mental health care and to impose some oversight and accountability on VA's to date unsatisfactory management of mental health care for at-risk veterans. The legislation provides for a wide range of alternative therapies, more careful management of opioids, and increased recruitment of mental health professionals.
During a hearing at the end of last year, there was the testimony that acknowledged that only a fraction of the funds budgeted for mental health and suicide prevention had been spent. We are still experiencing a suicide rate among veterans of 20/day. As an aside, we have found that in Indian Country, no one is even identifying, let alone counting, Indian veteran suicide, so it is unknown how these figures affect the current rate."
