Donald Trump Considers Moving VA Toward Privatization

[lunasun]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-considering-moving-va-toward-privatization-1482974260

Will this be like charter schools in education?? To prove the government is not doing it right?

President-elect Donald Trump is considering moving the Department of Veterans Affairs toward privatization, a transition team official said Wednesday, a policy decision major veterans’ groups have said they would oppose

Trump is considering changing the department to allow some veterans to bypass the VA heath-care system completely and get care exclusively from private-sector hospitals and clinics, the official said. It is an option that could give veterans full choice over their health care, but which many veterans groups argue is the first step toward privatization and one that will reduce the quality of health care over the long term.

[sarcasmo]

1. In four years everything will be privatized. Drink Brawndo, it's what plants crave.

[lunasun]

2. I will wait for the chocolate rations that were increased from the day before!

Or will it be like a Rand read ?
It will be some freaking hybrid of all these dystopian hells I fear

[sarcasmo]

3. It will be interesting to see what Ryan attacks first. I'M guessing Dodd-Frank.

With all the Billionaires and Millionaires in the White House, the bankers will salivate to take down Dodd-Frank.

[lunasun]

8. Yes Ryan will stay true to his objectivism religion

[UTUSN]

4. Well, of course. In his dystopia, we all are tenants. (& I'm not talking just about veterans.)

[moondust]

5. He met with three big hospital execs today.

He says he met with Johns Hopkins, Cleveland Clinic, and Mayo Clinic bosses today to discuss VA care.

Those are all private hospital systems. My question when I heard that was: were there any actual veterans or VA providers present to talk about THEIR HEALTH CARE SYSTEM?

KEEP YOUR GRUBBY LITTLE HANDS OFF THE VA, ASSHOLE!!!

[lunasun]

7. You know he can't . Impulsive and greedy . this will take $$$ out of the VA system like the

public schools lose tax $ to private charters in the area who take the funding

[GReedDiamond]

6. Yeah! Privatize the VA and make it a for-profit operation...

...enough of this socialist VA shit!

The Vets can just declare bankruptcy when they get billed into financial oblivion.

Bankruptcy worked great for Trumpler - what 5, 6 times? - so why wouldn't it work for sick and crippled vets?

(insert sarcasm tag here)

[lunasun]

11. Trump likes soldiers who aren't sick or crippled

[Willie Pep]

9. This an example of an issue where the Democrats need to go all out against Trump and the GOP.

We should make a huge stink about any privatization scheme for the VA as an attack on veterans and "our troops." Republicans love to hide behind our soldiers but then turn around to screw them. "Keep your hands off the VA" would be a good slogan. Let's see if the Democrats actually go ape over this or just roll over.

[Ilsa]

10. Everyone active duty or their family needs to speak up

About the promises made to them when signed up. Privatizing will ruin it.

Offer vouchers if vets declare they live too far or their VA is too busy.

[madville]

12. Give all veterans Tricare

Then let them use any doctor, clinic or hospital that accepts it, seems like an easy solution.

[AwakeAtLast]

22. But doctors can refuse Tricare

When my husband was in Iraq I had an awful time finding doctors who would accept it.

Make a provision that it can't be denied and I would be OK with that.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

13. Of course

Anything to enrich his wealthy buddies even further.

[Docreed2003]

14. Yet another GOP scam...

Underfund the VA then act appalled when that agency can't meet the demands of the current veteran population and then immediately call for privatization...because private hospital corporations will bend over backward to care for veterans . If the GOP had funded the VA in a meaningful way as they made the push for war in 2001 and 2003 there might not be a crisis today. These bastards will say they support veterans and the military all day and not give a seconds thought to what real support might actually mean. They don't give one rats ass about quality care for veterans. What these slime bags care about is shaving off a few dollars from the federal budget to benefit their wealthy patrons. Well fuck that...fund the fucking VA and overhaul the bullshit, that will cost way less than privatizing care in the long run.
-Signed USN OEF Vet

[lunasun]

15. How many times has the GOP voted against veterans? This solution has been in their works a while

[Docreed2003]

16. No doubt...they've done it again and again...

And most people have no clue because our media refuses to report it out of fear of being labeled biased

[Bozvotros]

21. Exactly. And the VA is getting huge numbers of older vets

Who have lost their jobs,or their insurance or can no longer afford it. Their care needs are often complicated so caseloads should be lower but instead there is a shortage of providers leading to higher caseloads more burnout fewer providers etc. I think their biggest problem has been a bonus system that rewarded incompetent managers for cutting costs and increasing service delivery. Without adequate staffing for their numbers of patients it lead to scheduling tricks that covered up the real problems. My personal view is that in any bureacracy bonuses should go only to clinical staff or workers while middle management needs to be given actual productive work or they willl invent processes that fuck things up for everyone.

[CatWoman]

17. two words

Walter Reed

[Crash2Parties]

18. Worked great for prisons, right? Or health care? / sarcasm

The GOP answer to anything that needs more funding to actually work right - after decades of defunding by the GOP - is to privatize it. Because adding that extra layer of profit always makes things more efficient, especially if they are crucial or critical needs.

We are about to see the pillaging of our children's future on a scale that I don't think most can yet imagine.

[smirkymonkey]

19. That sick fucking orange bastard is at it again.

Is there nothing he won't take away from decent, hard working people in this country? He has to be stopped.

[TheFrenchRazor]

20. and yet, military people probably went overwhelmingly for repugs. the military is a giant propaganda

and indoctrination machine for the troops, many of whom are young and impressionable.