Musings: VA makes things harder for vets
The Department of Veterans Affairs building. Credit: AP/Charles Dharapak
I have been providing mental health services for veterans for years. Having served in Vietnam, I have been committed to providing these services to veterans.
The Department of Veterans Affairs over time has made it increasingly difficult to provide services, has increased paperwork, and has delayed authorizations — unlike other insurance companies — making it harder to get these authorizations.
The VA may be having difficulty finding providers because of the avalanche of paperwork and delays in approval authorizations. In several instances, it has taken months.
Why doesn’t the VA just provide veterans with outside insurance and use referrals? Many veterans do not want to deal with the VA bureaucracy for their care, and I agree.
The VA moves glacially on these issues while the suicide rate among veterans is not dropping significantly.
Is the VA part of the solution or part of the problem?
— Charles Greco, Eastport
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