If Georgians want to know what government-run health care looks like in practice, they need only ask me or one of Georgia’s 776,000 veterans. The Department of Veterans Affairs thanks us with a health care system that can deliver sub-standard care and a bureaucratic nightmare.
The most obvious problem is VA’s disability claims backlog. According to the department, it has just under 700,000 claims in its system. More than half — 400,000— have been in the queue for more than a third of a year.
These claims aren’t just numbers. They’re veterans who need medical attention. Politicians from the president on down have promised to help us get the medical help we need in a timely manner. Yet the backlog remains as stubbornly high as ever. VA still missed out on its FY 2013 goals by a full 100,000 claims.
Like Obamacare, many of the VA’s problems are technological. For instance, the department still handles 97 percent of its claims process via paper.
Other problems get to the heart of health care itself. Many veterans describe their interactions with VA as “Delay, deny, wait till I die.” For instance, every day, 22 veterans commit suicide, yet at least a third of us have to wait at least two weeks for a mental health check-up.
The wait times can be even longer for more serious conditions. In a preview of what awaits average patients at standard hospitals, a CNN investigation last month described veterans’ plight best: “Military veterans are dying needlessly because of long waits and delayed care at U.S. veterans hospitals.”
Charles Skipper’s story is case in point. A retired member of the U.S. Army, he served in Vietnam during the late 1960s. His tour of duty earned him two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star and a lifelong battle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Skipper is an American hero, yet he has been routinely mistreated by VA. He submitted a disability claim more than six years ago. Today, he is still waiting for an update. All he could say to me was, “If you really want to know what Obamacare is going to be like, just look at the VA system.”
It’s a travesty that Skipper’s situation exists at all. But instead of rectifying it, Washington has poured billions of dollars into a nationalized health care system that may well bring his pain to millions of others.
Those politicians should devote efforts to fulfilling the promises they’ve made to veterans. If they won’t do that, then the politicians who passed the Affordable Care Act should at least answer one simple question: If they can’t fix VA, what right do they have to “fix” health care for the rest of the nation?
Pete Hegseth, an Army veteran, is the CEO of Concerned Veterans for America.
