How the VA is Helping Todays Veterans

How the Department of Veterans Affairs

Is Helping Todays Veterans

Lisa Silver
University of Charleston
Prepared for Professor Hartwell, COMM-102

How the VA is Helping Todays Veterans

There Department of Veterans Affairs is divided into three primary agencies: The
Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the Veteran Benefits Administration (VBA), and the
National Cemetery Association (NCA). The two that people are most familiar with are the VHA
(hospitals and clinics) and the VBA, (benefits). These two sections of the VA work hand-inhand to deliver much deserved benefits and services to our Veterans.
Assisting nearly nine million Veterans per year, the VHA is comprised of over 1,700
healthcare sites in the fifty-four states and territories. Veterans who have served more than one
hundred eighty continuous days of active duty service are eligible to enroll for and receive
healthcare services at the VHA. However, not all of that care is necessarily free. In order to be
eligible for free healthcare, the VBA must be involved. Veterans must apply for a disability
compensation rate for service-connected injuries or illnesses. Once the Veteran is determined to
be service-connected, then the VHA will treat that Veteran for all care related to those particular
injuries or illnesses free of charge. Those Veterans already enrolled and receiving serviceconnected healthcare are also eligible to receive care for other non-service-connected conditions,
but they will be charged for those services.
Still, there have been multiple disservices detected and reported regarding the VHAs
treatment of our Veterans. There have been reports of Veterans being turned away and refused
service, VA lead officials submitting false reports on the number of Veterans actually being
treated (which directly correlates with the amount of money the VA receives from the
government to provide these services), mistreatment of Veterans by the healthcare providers
themselves, etc. Leadership has been replaced, and new measures put into place to not only
correct the wrong-doings, but also improve the publics perception of both the quality of care
being administered to our Veterans, and the stewardship of government funding.

How the VA is Helping Todays Veterans

One of the most prominently known conditions that the VHA treats is PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder). Many of our returning Veterans are being diagnosed with PTSD, and
the VHA has a separate department at each of their hospital locations specializing in the care and
treatment of this often invisible condition. VHA has designated seven of their locations as VA
academic centers. These centers are dedicated to education and research regarding PTSD and
associated trauma. Based on the research they conduct, they then provide resources and
materials to providers within the VA system who work directly with Veterans suffering from this
disorder. In addition to treating the Veterans directly, VHA PTSD hospitals and clinics provide
training and education to the general public on how to recognize the signs of PTSD and ways to
cope with and assist Veterans as they seek treatment and begin to heal.
Like the VHA, the VBA has received a lot of negative press in recent years. Claims for
disability compensation often take nearly two years to complete. This means that disabled
Veterans are waiting that long before receiving compensation for injuries and illnesses sustained
as a result of their service to our country. The percentage ratings for disability have also been
under scrutiny. Many Veterans and their families are complaining about VBA not granting them
an reasonable and just disability percentage rating, which means that they may be entitled to not
only a lower disability compensation each month, but also may not qualify for some of the
services provided through the VA due to an inadequate percentage rating. Many attempts have
been made to replace leadership and try to improve the speed and quality of the disability
compensation rating procedures. However, it appears that not much progress has been made
with these efforts.

How the VA is Helping Todays Veterans

The VBA is a huge department within VA, administering benefits to Veterans such as
disability compensation, life insurance, vocational rehabilitation and training, GI Bill benefits,
and survivor benefits to name a few.
This Department of Veteran Affairs is the second largest recipient of federal funds, right
behind the Department of Defense. While there are many reports of the shortfalls of this huge
agency, little is often reported about the incredible amount of good work that theyre doing for
our Veterans. The American people must always demand the very best care for our Veterans,
and it is important to continue closely examining those agencies who exist for such a purpose. It
is the least we can do to honor their service to our great country. However, we must also
remember to recognize and appreciate the tens of thousands of VA employees who go to work
each day with doing the right thing in mind; those who genuinely care for our Veterans and
strive to make it a better agency on a day-to-day basis.
The VA will always be a necessary and worthwhile use our federal funds. The three
agencies of the VA all work together to provide services and benefits, each being dependent on
the other. Promises were made to our service members upon their enlistment, and it is an
American responsibility to provide the very best possible care and service to these brave and
courageous men and women.

How the VA is Helping Todays Veterans

References
Hicks, J. (2014, May15). A Guide to the VA Healthcare Controversy, The Washington Post.
http://www.benefits.va.gov/benefits
http://www.va.gov