We in the United States like to pride ourselves on how we treat our Veteran population. However, it seems like we have done the absolute bare minimum to provide our Veteran population with a functioning healthcare system. The VA healthcare system is an insult to those who have sacrificed so much. Many VA hospitals are limited in which services they offer and require Veterans to travel for basic procedures.  The majority of doctors employed at the VA are interns or residences who only spend six months to a year in the system, leaving Veterans without ever being able to create a long-term relationship with their doctors. This is especially critical when Veterans are seeking mental health counseling and they are constantly having to reintroduce themselves and their traumas to new people. It is commonplace to have little or no follow-up from doctors. Oftentimes, the burden falls of the Veteran themselves to do all of the legwork in order to get the most basic of needs attended to. Navigating the VA healthcare system is a legitimate cause for emotional and mental health problems among Veterans. It is supposed to be a place where Veterans go to get the medical attention they earned in their sacrifices. Instead, the VA has become a new battleground that Veterans have to fight. We are tired of fighting.  

We propose that the Department of Veterans Affairs should allow and pay for Veterans to be able to choose any doctor they want, in any location, for any procedure, treatment, or evaluation without any restrictions. Having the ability to choose a medical provider outside of the VA for any reason would not only improve the quality of care that Veterans receive, but it would also alleviate the burden that the VA system is currently experiencing, and it would actually save the government money in the process. According to a 2009 study, VA healthcare costs 33% more that it would if purchased in the private sector, inpatient care costs are 56% higher in the VA, and there is evidence that VA surgical care has worse outcomes than that private sector surgical care (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20515005/ Weeks, Wallace, Wallace, and Gottlieb, 2009).

Too many Veterans are suffering because the VA is unable to serve them in the manner which they require and deserve. Too often are Veterans given subpar healthcare under the façade of "serving those who served us." A free subpar service is not a service at all. Help improve the quality of life for those who sacrificed so much! Allow Veterans the right to choose their healthcare provider!