Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-03-10
Retort to Hoover Report

in The Star of March relating to the
hot of the press" Hoover Commission
recommendations concerning Veterans
Administration medical activities add
to your historic policy Of fair play and
common sense.
Never in history has so important
a commission said so much with so
few facts to back it up-and all in the
name of economy. OF course, realize
it isn't important that I, as the ma
tional commander of one veterans or
ganization, feel this way. But sug-
gest that it is important that my view
is shared by some pretty fair minded
people including top executive and leg
islative personnel in Government whose
objections will come to light in the
very near future.
The Hoover Commissions recommen-
dations on VA medicine are, in our
opinion, doomed to failure-a. deserving
fate. They are doomed because they
fail to tell the whole truth. When you
consider the following we hope you
will agree:
/. The Hoover Commission distorts
the truth when it implies that dis
ability compensation is So billion
part of the cost of Federal medical
care. Disability compensation is paid
as a result of impaired earning power
caused by disability incurred in mill
tary service. Thousands OF recipients
of disability compensation have never
even seen a Veterans Administration
hospital, let alone having been patient
in one.
2. The Hoover Commission falsely
alleges that there is gross abuse of the
VA medical system. The House Vet
Grams Affairs Committee and the Vet
Grams Administration itself have definite
proof as a result of exhaustive surveys
and studies that present regulations
have almost eliminated abuse.
3. The Hoover Commission implies
half truths when it talks about 20
million veterans who are entitled to
disqualification in VA hospitals. 1t con-
veniently CLOSES over the fact that only
100000 VA beds were available last
year. And it doesn't explain how all
of those 20 million veterans who they
say were so grossly abusing this pro-
gram could have possibly squeezed into
those 100000 beds.
4. The Hoover Commission either
deliberately or with ignorance indi-
Gates that only nonmedical VA per-
sonnet determine how much compen-
sation or pension a veteran is entitled
to. The basic truth known to every
one interested in veterans affairs is
that doctors are an integral part of
every Veterans Administration disabn-
ity determination.
S. The Hoover Commission blandly
recommends investigation of every non
service connected disqualification case
to see if the veteran applying for such
disqualification can afford to pay for 1t.
1t purposely or with ignorance over
looks a 2-year- old policy of the Vet
Grams Administration that has almost
entirely done the very thing it recon-
mends. And this policy. incidentally
was recommended by AMVETS over
three years ago.
6. The Hoover Commission inhu-
namely ignores the fact that Of the
$4,000 non-service connected cases in
VA hospitals, 10000 are neuropsychi-
atric cases, 10, 900 are TB cases. and the
vast majority of others are chronic
cases such as cancer, heart trouble
sugar diabetes, etc. And the Hoover
Commission had this information
right before 1t when it wrote its
report.
7. The Hoover Commission extern
sively refers to isolated quotes from a
General Accounting Office report of
1852 which is detrimental to the VA
medical program. It then deliberately
fails to quote likewise from a more
recent report of the House Veterans
Affairs Committee which showed the
GAO report to be fallacious in almost
every extent.
8. The Hoover Commission says that
national veterans organizations are
opposed to gold bricking." 1t fails
to say that extensive surveys by those
same organizations conclusively proved
that gold bricking" is almost non
existent in VA hospitals.
9. The Hoover Commission recon-
mends periodic review of veterans dis
ability compensation claims. leaving
the erroneous impression that such
reviews are not now made,
10. The Hoover Commission recon-
mends the closing of some Veterans
1lOOPlOdlo. IL dIoo NV
ommends no new construction. 1t fails
to even humanely indicate where this
Nation should place the veteran pa
tients, service connected and nom
service connected alike, presently in
those hospitals.
Rufus H. Wilson,
National Commander, AMVETS.
editors note. The Star has con-
fidence in the findings of two Hoover
Commissions and their task forces
regarding needed reforms in the vet
Grams health and disqualification pro-
grams. It's editorial and cartoon were
based largely on those findings. After
further inquiry as to points raised in
Mr.. Wilson's letter. The Star stands on
its editorial position that the Hoover
Commission has revealed much that