What do Republicans and Libertarians think about privatizing the Veterans healthcare facilities (the VA)?

Everyone I know supports the changes.Im not sure how it could be worse than what we saw in the past, letting vets die and hiding records.

Trump and Musk do not want the expense . . . therefore less money will be spent for Veterans, care will tank.

I’m a libertarian having worked at the VA. The VA is not an efficiently run organization BUT I think it’s a terrible idea for it to be privatized.

Well, I was denied medical coverage by the VA because I dared to make more than $37k per year. And I’m a veteran. I was initially accepted with a judgement call because I made a little more than the $37k, but later denied because they took things that weren’t income as income in their decision. I rolled over IRAs into annuities and hadn’t started collecting on them. The IRS doesn’t view this as income, but the VA claimed I suddenly made almost $200k per year. I even asked them if I started collecting on the annuities if they would claim it as income after claiming the full sum as income. They said they would.

So as a veteran, I have to ask: would privatizing it really be any worse? Nothing from nothing leaves you nothing.

@seawulf575 I don’t get it. My uncle is a multi-millionaire and uses the VA. I don’t know anything about a money requirement.

@KNOWITALL I’m not questioning your reports of bad care, but there are tons of examples of bad care in private health care too.

@JLeslie You should probably educate yourself on the US VA scandal then. It was a pretty big deal to many Americans.The FBI investigated, vets died waiting on care, over 223 million in financial mismanagement, etc.. It’s far more than bad care it was murder, it was ignoring suicidal vets.

I can name just as many medical scandals outside of the VA is my point.

@JLeslie Just wait a few years and all the trendy weight loss shots will likely be next.

@KNOWITALL I’m not sure I understand. I was talking about medical facilities.

@JLeslie There is an exception if you can show you have a disability. It doesn’t even have to be anything that really qualifies as a disability in the real world, but you have to say it happened when you were serving. I didn’t. I was exposed to asbestos but that never led to any health issues. I was exposed to radiation and that never led to any health issues. I was put into one of the most stressful environments on Earth, but that never led to any health issues. At least none that I can fake. So I fall to the requirements of income. For someone that is married, the most they can earn is something like $37.5k/yr. So because I’m in good health, I don’t qualify for VA medical coverage.

@JLeslie but there are tons of examples of bad care in private health care too.

Yes, probably the biggest is what the prison system became after it was privatized.

@seawulf575 I wasn’t aware. My uncle was injured during his service, I don’r know all of the details. My dad qualified for 40% disability I think. My dad is also retired from the military, but being retired doesn’t qualify you for the VA.

@smudges I wasn’t even thinking about that. I was thinking about myself, friends, family, and reports of every day people not getting good care. Rushed through appointments, charged gouging fees for office appointments, hospitalization, and diagnostic procedures. Medical mistakes. Patients not taken seriously. Misdiagnosis. This happens in all systems, even when the majority of the care is good.

^^ I agree, but my first thought when I heard “privatize” was prisons and the corruption in those systems.

Privatize means a certain percentage of money goes into the proprietor’s pocket before the rest goes to services. That means less $ for services. It’s a lot like make/buy calculations we do at work.

@RocketGuy Putting money into someone’s pocket means they are motivated to charge more and milk the system and money gets prioritized over the patient. That is a problem.

Privatizing means it will only get worse. Anyone who is benefiting from the VA currently will get less help. The VA doesn’t do what it does to get money but they often fall short on funds because there are more that need help than what they can actually provide. Now imagine privatizing. It will be as @RocketGuy points out. You will have nothing. Or the government will have to pay a contractor 3 times or more the amount they are currently paying for these businesses to make money. So tax payers will have to foot the bill increase and Vets will probably get less services for the extra amount paid.