Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 9, 1994 TAG: 9409090064
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A2 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
A report prepared by the Paralyzed Veterans of America said the Department of Veterans Affairs, the nation's largest health care provider, must develop new markets, focus on its strengths and consolidate some services if it is to meet the needs of American vets.
If not, said the group's deputy executive director, John Bollinger, the VA ``will quickly become an irrelevant afterthought, abandoning the millions of veterans who rely on its unique specialized services and expertise.''
The ``Strategy 2000'' report was issued on Capitol Hill Thursday amid a growing consensus that there is little hope for significant national health care reform this year.
President Clinton's original plan, and proposals put forth by Democratic leaders in Congress, would make the VA an independent health care system that would compete with other health care providers and would be open to all veterans.
Less than one-tenth of the nation's 27 million veterans - mainly low-income veterans and those with service-connected disabilities - use the 171-hospital system every year.
Veterans' groups have generally welcomed the administration proposals, and the Paralyzed Veterans of America cautioned in the report that failure to pass a reform bill, or passage of incremental reform, ``would place VA in its most untenable position.''
The report recommends that the VA focus on what it does best, such as programs for spinal cord injuries, geriatrics, rehabilitation and prosthetics. It should consider consolidating or selling some services where demand is low and contracting for care from community providers to better serve veterans.
VA facilities should offer care to veterans' dependents and others, it said.
by CNB