Veterans' Advocates Lauded For VA Health Care Forecast
Contact: Richard Flanagan of AMVETS, 301-459-9600; David Autry of Disabled American Veterans, 202-314-5219; Bob Ensinger of Paralyzed Veterans of America, 202-416-7681; Joe Davis of Veterans of Foreign Wars, 202-608-8357
WASHINGTON, June 30 /U.S. Newswire/ -— The Senate's overwhelming approval of an emergency supplemental appropriation for the Department of Veterans Affairs medical system is good news for America's veterans. But the shortfall in funding for veterans health care could have been avoided if Congress and the Administration had accepted the funding recommendations contained in The Independent Budget authored by a coalition of veterans advocacy groups.
That assessment was made yesterday by House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) during a news conference held to discuss a shortfall in the VA's fiscal year 2005 budget. Noting that the budgeting process is far from precise, Buyer said The Independent Budget's "best guess was as accurate as I've seen."
The amount Congress provided for VA health care in fiscal year 2005 was substantially below The Independent Budget recommendation. So, when VA officials revealed last week that the department needed another $1.5 billion this year to meet the health care needs of the nation's veterans, lawmakers were scrambling to understand why.
But the shortfall for fiscal year 2005 is only part of the problem. The VA estimates that veterans health care faces a $2.7 billion shortfall in 2006. The Independent Budget estimates that VA needs a $3.4 billion increase in 2006 just to maintain current services.
Part of the explanation, according to VA officials, is that the VA's medical budget was based on "actuarial modeling" that used three-year-old data and failed to take into account increased demand for health care by veterans returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as veterans from earlier eras needing more services.
In contrast to the VA's model, The Independent Budget is a full-funding, needs-based budget. It's funding recommendations are based on actual usage data obtained from the VA and an adjustment for inflation.
Now in its 19th year, The Independent Budget, co-authored by AMVETS, the Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, is widely acknowledged as a credible, well-considered set of policy and funding recommendations that are based on the actual needs of the men and women the VA was created to serve.
To view or download a copy of this year's The Independent Budget from the Internet, go to http://www.independentbudget.org.
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AMVETS — a leader since 1944 in preserving the freedoms secured by America's Armed Forces — provides, not only support for veterans and the active military in procuring receipt of their earned entitlements, but also community services that enhance the quality of life for this nation's citizens. ( http://www.amvets.org )
The 1.3 million-member Disabled American Veterans, a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1932, is dedicated to one, single purpose: building better lives for our nation's disabled veterans and their families. ( http://www.dav.org )
The Paralyzed Veterans of America, a veterans service organization chartered by Congress, has for more than 50 years served the needs of its members, all of whom have catastrophic paralysis caused by spinal cord injury or disease. ( http://www.pva.org )
The VFW is a 1.8 million-member veterans' service organization, now in its 106th year, with a nationwide network of some 9,000 Posts and service officers working to build better communities and assist all veterans and their dependents with problems involving VA entitlements and pensions. ( http://www.vfwdc.org )
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/© 2005 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/
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