[Blindvet-talk] Without VA Lease Authority, Veterans To Be Denied Care

[NABlindVets at aol.com]

>From Dwight D. sayer NABV National  President,
 
 
 
 
From:  Larry A. Polzin, DAV National Commander [mailto:lbogle at davmail.org]  
Sent: Wednesday, June 12, 2013 3:42 PM
To: Dwight  Sayer
Subject: Without VA Lease Authority, Veterans To Be Denied  Care


   
   
     
Without VA Lease Authority, Veterans To Be  Denied Care  
 (http://capwiz.com/dav/utr/1/ECLLTDGUBU/KFUBTDGUCN/9657656376) 
_Take Action!_ 
(http://capwiz.com/dav/utr/1/ECLLTDGUBU/KFUBTDGUCN/9657656376)    
Please Contact Your Elected Officials  Today!   
 
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) plans  to open 38 new community 
outpatient clinics, in 22 states and  territories, between now and 2017. These 
clinics will be in leased  buildings, with VA employees providing the 
services. This same  arrangement has worked well in hundreds of existing VA 
clinics,  nationwide. 
Last year, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), an  independent arm of 
Congress, decided these lease contracts would  become long-term debts of the 
federal government. In considering  the first 15 leases, Congress, based on 
the new CBO  interpretation, forced VA to find funds for all 15 leases to 
cover  an entire 20-year leasing period, rather than provide the money  for 
only the first year. The authorizing law only requires the  first year to be 
funded, with future payments to be managed  through the annual VA budget. 
Because VA could not pay the entire  cost (between $1.2 and $1.5 billion) in the 
first year for 15  clinics, this new interpretation effectively stopped all 
VA  proposed leases. This program, both new clinic leases and renewals  for 
existing leases, is now in jeopardy. 
Without these clinics, VA will be denying care to veterans in  need, while 
making their health care more expensive overall. The  cost to the government 
is far less than construction of major VA  hospitals. Without the ability 
to lease, from a practical point of  view the change in Congressional policy 
forces VA to buy land and  build government-owned clinics, or to do nothing. 
At a minimum  this new requirement will add years to the existing planning  
process, will delay or deny care for veterans, and is unacceptable  to 
veterans who need VA health care. 
VA is managing almost 900 existing community-based outpatient  clinics, all 
established under the prior policy, and operating  under leases. Veterans 
who receive this care are highly satisfied.  In our opinion this successful 
arrangement should not be abandoned  at the expense of 340,000 or more 
veterans who would be denied  care. 
Please use the prepared letter, or write your own letter, to  urge your two 
Senators and Member of the House of Representatives  to solve this problem, 
to ensure veterans receive the care they  earned and deserve. Recently, the 
Executive Directors of the major  veterans service organizations sent a 
letter to Congressional  leaders expressing our concerns. 
As always, thank you for your grassroots advocacy on behalf of  injured, 
wounded and ill veterans, and for your support of DAV and  our mission of 
service to  veterans.


 
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