Va Budget = Inadequate Again!

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PVA Newsroom
Contact: David J. Uchic Phone: (202) 416-7667
Cell: (202) 368-7633


Another Year, Another Inadequate Budget
Request for Veterans? Health Care

February 3, 2004 ? Washington, D.C.?Yesterday, the Administration released its Budget Request for FY 2005 providing grossly inadequate funding of health care for our Nation?s sick and disabled veterans for yet another year. The request includes only $310 million more than the FY 2004 appropriation which was only just passed two weeks ago, nearly four months late. This is the lowest appropriation request for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care made by any Administration in nearly a decade. The VA Under Secretary for Health testified last year that it requires an average yearly medical care increase of 12% to 14% to meet the cost of inflation and mandated salary increases. However, $310 million is only 1.2% more than the FY 2004 appropriation. The Administration?s budget proposal relies far too heavily on budget gimmicks, major cuts in long term care programs, higher out-of-pocket costs for veterans, and not enough on appropriated dollars.

Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) is deeply troubled by a proposal to charge a $250 user fee for Category 7 and 8 veterans and to increase prescription co-payments from $7 to $15. Similar proposals were rejected last year by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. PVA Executive Director Delatorro McNeal stated, ?Many veterans cannot afford these higher costs. The alternative for many sick and disabled veterans will be to forego necessary medical care and risk endangering their health.? He emphasized that ?this is yet another attempt by this Administration to pay for the services of one group of veterans out of the pockets of other veterans.?

PVA is also disappointed with the major cuts in award-winning VA medical and prosthetic research. This would set the research grant program back six years to FY 1999 funding levels.

The Independent Budget, a comprehensive budget policy document co-authored by PVA, AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans, and Veterans of Foreign Wars, recommended $29.8 billion for funding for veterans? health care for FY 2005. This funding request tracks the real needs of the VA to provide quality health care in a timely manner to all veterans enrolled in the system.

The lack of consistent funding for the VA along with the uncertainty attached to the process, fuels efforts to deny more veterans health care and charge veterans more for the care they receive. The VA health care system can only operate properly when it knows how much funding it is going to get and when it is going to get that funding. This cannot be accomplished through the discretionary budget process that veterans? health care is now subject to. Mr. McNeal emphasized that ?Congress must pass mandatory funding legislation to ensure that VA has sufficient resources and receives those resources in a timely manner to meet existing statutory obligations for all levels of care, including the specialized services PVA members require.?

PVA?s National Legislative Director Richard Fuller will testify during a budget hearing before the House Committee on Veterans? Affairs on the FY 2005 VA budget on Wednesday, February 4, 2004 at 9:30 a.m. in room 334 of the Cannon House Office Building.



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The Paralyzed Veterans of America, a veterans service organization chartered by Congress, has for more than 55 years served the needs of its members, all of whom have catastrophic paralysis caused by spinal cord injury or disease. To learn more about PVA, visit its web site at www.pva.org.


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I have to believe that our service organizations know what they are talking about when it comes to Veterans Issues. This is what they all recommend and I have to agree with them. I found this on the DAV web site and thought it would be of interest. If it has been posted before I apologize. Go to Thomas.org and look up bill s.50 for more information and the status of this bill.

Access to priority health care for our nation?s service-connected disabled veterans has been seriously eroded over the years due to insufficient health care funding. The veterans health care system is in crisis. Continued budget shortfalls, combined with rising costs for medical care and increased demand for VA health care, have resulted in unprecedented waiting times for routine and specialty care nationwide. According to VA, in December 2002, nearly 236,000 veterans are either waiting for their first appointment or waiting at least six months for care. Additionally, VA reports that many of its facilities have reached capacity with closed enrollment at some hospitals and clinics. But most disturbing are reports of severely disabled veterans having to wait months, and, in some cases, more than a year, for basic health care and specialized services.

DAV believes it is disingenuous for our government to promise health care to veterans and then make it unattainable because of inadequate funding. Rationed health care is no way to honor America?s obligation to the brave men and women who have so honorably served our nation. Guaranteed funding for VA health care will help to ensure timely access to quality health care for our nation?s service-connected disabled veterans. It would also ensure that VA receives its new funding level on October 1, the first day of the new fiscal year, instead of being forced to operate under last year?s spending level until Congress can pass an appropriations bill. Currently, VA is funded at last year?s level until the new Congress passes an appropriations bill in January or February of 2003. Therefore, to avoid the uncertainties of the annual appropriations process, we are pressing for funding for veterans? health care to be mandated in permanent law.

[Gimpy]

I wish more folks would wake the hell up and see what's going on regarding this issue!