At the end of my column last week on whether the Veterans Administration should be fully privatized or not, I asked readers, particularly veterans, to share their insights. Among those who did, it was no contest. Many veterans I heard from like, if not love, their VA care. I did not receive one response favoring privatization. I hope elected officials and other self-interested parties pushing to privatize get the message. Here’s a sampling of response I received:
Jim Brown, San Diego, retired Marine, Vietnam combat vet, Purple Heart recipient: “The VA offers the unique care that veterans need for the physical and mental trauma. PTSD from Vietnam combat service is one of these. A close friend of mine tried many times to commit suicide, but through VA group counseling his life was saved. Privatization will ruin the unique and successful treatment of our wounded combat veterans. What we should really do is fully fund and staff the VA system. Then, separately fund any ‘choice’ treatment as needed when the VA is unable to provide care because of distance and/or availability of treatment.”
John Mannillo, St. Paul: “I’m a disabled vet. Hearing loss. Up until about 15 years ago I had my own insurance. I went through private medical care. The VA is much better. I could not be more happy with it. It’s much more comprehensive. They really do track everything you need. The great thing about it is that I don’t have all that paperwork and the insurance that goes with it. I’m a big fan of the VA.”
Michael Medina, Vietnam combat veteran, St. Paul: “As I sit here at the VA Hospital (Minneapolis) getting my (antibiotic) infusion treatment I am concerned about the privatization of veterans health care for many reasons as suggested in your article. I believe that it would overwhelm the private health care system. I also believe that the private sector is not prepared to diagnose war-related injuries. I went to a private health provider because my back hurt and my legs were getting numb. They wanted to operate. I went to the VA and diagnosis was neuropathy, one of the many symptoms of Agent Orange. The VA is treating me as if I have Agent Orange. I don’t know if I have AO, but, I am recovering with little or no pain. The point is I think in the private healthcare I would have had an operation on my back. I talked to a lot of veterans that come here and love it because the focus is on veterans’ health issues and treatment.”
J. Michael Orange, former Marine, author of “Fire in the Hole: A Mortarman in Vietnam”, West St. Paul: “I’ve had nothing but excellent service at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. My doc knows me and knows I walk into his office with an underlying condition of PTSD from my experience serving with the First Marines in Vietnam (1969-1970). When I sought care in Florida, the local VA clinic had instant access to all of my records and provided excellent, wait-free service. Over the years, I have conducted an informal survey of the VA personnel I encounter, from doctors and nurses to those who work in food and janitorial services. With only one exception (a male nurse who was having a very bad day), people have told me they love working there. I ask ‘why?’ and rarely do I hear the reasons others might think important to a government job like salary, benefits, and job security. The most frequent response is ‘I love helping the vets.’ It’s patient-centered care from top to bottom.”
Sheila Laughton, retired Air Force veteran, Newport: “Yes, the VA has problems like other hospitals AND it works with a very diverse population with issues rarely found in the civilian community. Maybe it is in bad shape — except when you compare it to any other hospital system. Perhaps filling the more than 33,000 empty positions would make the VA more responsive and timelier. Perhaps the fact that the U.S. has been continuously creating new veterans with extremely serious health issues could be taken into budget considerations. What other system can train so many health care professionals in such diverse situations? And for those who have ever dealt with the civilian (profit based?) hospitals, there is far less paperwork and far more care. Let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater!”
Art Thell, Inver Grove Heights: “A vociferous ‘NO’ to privatizing any part of the VA medical system from this lifelong conservative. There are some things that public entities can do better and two of them are specific medical systems such as the VA and highways. One of my sons served at the front (truck driver supporting armor) in Desert Storm. In the course of that event, those troops were exposed to both poison gas around them and close-proximity heavy-metal-infused ammunition in their loads. The Army took back their M-6 poison gas detectors because they were constantly going off. And the ammunition exposure was a constant condition because they were on 24/7 duty, slept with their loads, and took whatever load was next in the rotation. The VA system monitored his liver condition in the early 2000s, prepping him for eventual transplant and in 2006, they flew him down to Nashville (their biliary specialty center) for transplant. It wasn’t a perfect match and he has had a tough road with anti-rejection meds. He was finally able to return to light work last year. Through all of this the VA has done an excellent job. However the Army denies any responsibility so, in those 15-plus years, he was entitled to neither military or SS disability. But that problem cannot be laid at the VA’s door.”
Don Hammer, Lutsen: “I have received exemplary care from the Minneapolis and Twin Ports VA facilities. I live two hours from the nearest clinic and do support the option of going to a local clinic for urgent care needs.”
Larry Johnson, veteran, Minneapolis: “I never signed up for the VA, because my service was ‘benign’ and I ended up with jobs with health insurance We can more easily violate funding guidelines to send people to war than to take care of them when they come back. Yes, the VA has some problems, just like the regular health care system, but it is not the VA’s fault that we put considerably more money into unnecessary weapons systems than into totally adequate veteran care. Most people also don’t know that traditional veteran organizations like the (American) Legion were started primarily to help veterans fight for the benefits they were promised.”
Melodee Sortedahl, Spring Valley, WI: My husband is VA connected and we know about the complaints about VA services all around the country. We want to say that the Minneapolis is excellent, serves us well, no problems with getting appointments, and we have taken advantage of theVeteran’s Choice program on occasion which also worked well for us.
Frank G, St. Paul: As a Vietnam Veteran and MN VAMC patient since my relocation to MN 2 years ago I would like to thank you for the article regarding privatization of veteran’s care. My experience over the past 25 years with the VA has been wonderful overall and continues to be in MN. It is difficult to explain the difference between VA care and private care. Maybe you have to have been in the military to understand.
Andrew Berman, St. Louis Park, US Army 1971-1973: I think that the move to privatize the VA is a major mistake, a disaster, a betrayal of the women and men who have served in our armed forces. It is an ideological gimmick of conservatives and the far-right . It is an attempt to steer funds intended to heal veterans into the pockets of wealthy health industry executives.
As a US Army veteran with blood cancer and other ailments, I am highly satisfied and continually impressed at the level of care that I receive at the Minneapolis Veterans Administration Medical Center. The care and concern provided to me by medical professionals there continually amazes me. With very few exceptions, my monthly appointments at the VA and my interactions with staff over the past 5 years have been very gratifying.
With an immune system impaired by cancer, on two occasions I have needed VA emergency services. In both instances, I received rapid and professional attention from staff well-trained in patient interaction. I am certain that I am alive today because a VA doctor quickly recognized that I had sepsis, often a fatal disease, and put me on high dosage intravenous anti-biotics rapidly.
Indeed my only negative experience occurred when I was once outsourced by the VA to a private facility for what was purported to be a minor surgery. But likely due to insufficient access to or knowledge of my previous medical history at the private facilities, there were serious complications after the operation.
Getting care at the VA relieves me of the psychological worries and stress of facing huge bills and financial disaster. The breakthrough anti-cancer medications I receive are both extremely effective and extremely expensive. For allowing me to meet my family financial needs without worrying about the costs of my own medical care is a blessing beyond description.
While no large system is flawless, and I do encounter occasional snafus with the VA bureaucracy, basically the system works, and it works well!. There are fixes and improvements that can and should be made to the VA, but privatization of the VA is certain to make things worse. It would certainly degrade the care that veterans need and have learned to expect from their VA.
