WASHINGTON, DC -- Health care for the nation's veterans will be the focus of a presidential task force recently commissioned to improve coordination between the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD).
President George W. Bush announced creation of the task force on Memorial Day at the White House, saying, "We must improve the way VA and DoD work together to provide health care to those who have served in uniform."
Heading up the 15-member task force for its two-year study are former New York Congressman Gerald B.H. Solomon, a long-time veterans' advocate who served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War, and Dr. Gail R. Wilensky, a prominent expert on health policy who ran the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) for former President Bush.
"The president recognized we need to improve the availability and delivery of health care to both America's veterans and military retirees," said Solomon. "He understands what it means to keep a promise and to get results. That is what this presidential task force intends to do."
The task force’s goals are to improve access to veterans benefits and to strengthen VA-DoD partnerships for health care services. Among the items that will be studied are the budgeting processes, billing, reimbursement, procurement of supplies and services, data sharing and information technology.
"As our veterans age, many of the issues they will face are similar to the issues faced by our elderly population and the Medicare program," said Wilensky. "At the same time, we need to be mindful that the nation's younger veterans are being well served by an ever-changing health care delivery system. With the focus that a presidential task force can bring to these issues, I am confident we can accomplish the mission that the president laid out for us."
The task force has nine months from the first meeting to give the president an interim report. The final report is due at the end of the second year of operation.
Coordination between VA and DoD has been a key element in Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi's agenda. "I think the walls separating the departments are too high. Both departments spend millions of dollars that could be saved annually if VA and DoD pooled resources, equipment and medical services," Principi said.
For example, VA and DoD signed a memorandum of understanding in 1998 to establish standardized procedures for separation physicals for people being discharged from active duty. This program, called Benefits Delivery at Discharge, provides a single standardized medical exam that satisfies the needs of both departments and enables VA to more quickly process claims for service-connected disability compensation.
"Unfortunately, only about 10 percent of the approximately 215,000 military men and women being discharged each year receive their exams under this program," Principi said. "Although the program has had great success, we still have a long way to go."
In addition to Solomon and Wilensky, other members of the Task Force will include health care experts, representatives from veterans and military service organizations and officials who have worked in the VA and DoD health care systems.
"It is imperative that we ensure that veterans health care will be available for every deserving veteran as long as they need it," said Solomon. "It is vital because it is the right thing to do for those who served. Along with Co-Chair Wilensky, we intend to identify ways to make sure 21st century health care is readily available to these deserving men and women," Solomon said.
