give them vouchers or reimburse to be seen at a private facility, and then if further ongoing care is needed, they get folded in to the VA system for it.

The last of the WWII and Korean War vets, Vietnam vets retiring and the Gulf Wars vets who survived normally fatal wounds are trying to get care. I went to our local Vet center and found guys who have Medicare but want to go the the VA for non-military related problems. That's OK but they should wait. The counselor who I talked to said there was no advantage for non-military problems. Plus they wanted all my financial info etc. For those under 65 it's better than nothing.

In some cases, they're hitting the age where it gets hard to be hired after losing a stable job, so they're turning to VA as their last resort; in others, the damage they took is now becoming an issue (especially orthopedic soft tissue damage and hearing damage, with both worsen in middle age), and or a combination of both are hitting. That's around a million people, many of whom are not in line right now because they have other resources. In my experience, vets will wait as long as possible before going to VA because they understand that VA services should be triaged to those who need them most.

VA has needed regular budget increases for decades according to their own actuarial forecasts, but Congress had other "priorities."

These chronic failures of the VA system do not advance the argument for government-run healthcare.

Vets who don't receive treatment according to VA policy should be vouchered for care elsewhere. Fuck the politics. Treat the vets.

The same people who wouldn't appropriate the money for the VA will have to appropriate the money for vouchers ... and ... they will want to cut something else to pay for it. I think the 1% should kick in but that's not going anywhere.