Hundreds of VA clinicians warn that cuts threaten vets' health care

3 days ago

Hundreds of VA doctors pass that cuts frighten vets wellness care

Hundreds of existent and erstwhile VA clinicians person sent an unfastened missive to nan Secretary of Veterans Affairs, informing that cuts and accrued privatization frighten nan VA wellness attraction system.

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Hundreds of existent and erstwhile clinicians from nan Department of Veterans Affairs person signed an unfastened missive to VA Secretary Doug Collins. They pass that unit shortages are threatening veterans' health. Now, nan VA disputes this. It says it is serving veterans amended than ever successful portion by expanding costs for backstage wellness attraction extracurricular nan VA. But nan VA doctors opportunity this inaugural is really a large portion of nan problem, arsenic NPR's Quil Lawrence reports.

QUIL LAWRENCE, BYLINE: This unfastened missive comes aft months of uncertainty astatine VA pinch goals of cutting tens of thousands of VA positions and knowledgeable unit accepting early status offers made by nan Trump administration. The missive warns that existent policies will, quote, "undermine VA's wellness attraction system, overwhelm VA's fund and negatively impact nan lives of each veterans."

DEAN WINSLOW: The VA is an fantabulous integrated wellness attraction system, and it's some cost-effective, but astir important, effective attraction for veterans.

LAWRENCE: Dean Winslow signed nan letter. He served 4 tours successful Iraq and Afghanistan arsenic a formation surgeon. He's now a expert and professor astatine Stanford, and he consults for VA. He says astir studies show VA attraction rates arsenic bully aliases amended than backstage wellness care, and Winslow says there's different point he sees arsenic a combat seasoned himself.

WINSLOW: Very fewer civilian providers really understand veterans and our experience, but nan physicians that activity astatine nan VA often get paid a batch little than group would successful nan backstage sector. They take to activity astatine nan VA because they emotion nan mission.

LAWRENCE: VA spokesperson Pete Kasperowicz rejected nan premise of nan letter. In an email to NPR, he said VA is serving veterans overmuch amended nether nan Trump management than it was nether nan Biden administration, and nan numbers beryllium it. He cited a alteration successful nan VA claims backlog and said VA has offered astir 1 cardinal appointments extracurricular of normal operating hours to make attraction much convenient, and he cited nan VA's accrued usage of non-VA providers astatine nan department's expense. But that past constituent has been debated for years. Veterans mostly support having nan prime to spot a VA supplier aliases a backstage 1 for free. But it's not really free, says Lars Osterberg, who was a VA expert for much than 20 years.

LARS OSTERBERG: Diverting resources to these backstage vendors are not ever that effective. There's vendor incentives, obviously, to jack up prices and complaint a batch and not needfully get nan champion value of attraction for our veterans.

LAWRENCE: Osterberg signed nan unfastened missive successful portion because he worries that nan push for privatizing VA attraction is starting to bleed retired VA resources, and there's nary grounds that backstage options are amended aliases moreover faster than a VA assignment successful astir parts of nan country.

OSTERBERG: Mainly, we want to extremity nan unit cuts. It's difficult to supply value of attraction erstwhile you person inadequate support from ancillary staff. And past nan frustrations besides consequence successful clinicians leaving, going to different places to attraction for patients.

LAWRENCE: That could mean VA has to outsource much astatine greater expense, which nan missive warns could commencement a spiral that threatens nan viability of VA's wellness attraction system. Quil Lawrence, NPR News.

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