This VA budget request for FY 2000 only intensifies those deep concerns. VVA grants that it s difficult to manage such a large system, but we do believe that it is possible to do a much better job than has always been the case in the past, if there are adequate resources available to accomplish the mission. However, this prospective payment model is within a closed system. It simply strains credulity that the very bright people at OMB and on the staff of the President and Vice President are unaware of what such a grossly inadequate estimate of requested funds would to do to medical care for veterans, and the additional strain this would place on an already brittle and very stressed system. We do not know the answers to any of these speculations, nor in the end does it really matter for the veteran in vital need of medical care and services.
Many veterans entitled to quality medical care find such services unobtainable today.
Many more will find the chances of obtaining medical care and services even more remote if this budget request is not dramatically increased. VHA has asked for authority to move forward with cutbacks that include closing of facilities and shifting or reducing staff beginning immediately. It is our understanding that approximately forty sites are already authorized for such actions. To say that we find all of the above disappointing would be to understate the reactions of our members and leaders from around the country. The failure to forthrightly deal with the extraordinary changes and challenges confronting the VA medical system in strong clear terms, and to exhibit the leadership necessary to secure the necessary resources to accomplish the mission is simply breathtaking.