One of the most serious problems facing all veterans today is the lack of proper healthcare. Soldiers, sailors and airmen are leaving active duty without having proper healthcare to cover their physical or mental injuries. The department responsible for veteran’s healthcare is the Department of Veterans Affairs. (VA) According to The department of Veterans Affairs website, “The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is responsible for administering programs of veterans’ benefits for veterans, their families, and survivors. The benefits provided include disability compensation, pension, education, home loans, life insurance, vocational rehabilitation, survivors’ benefits, medical benefits and burial benefits. It is administered by the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs.” The VA, who was formerly called the Veterans Administration, was established 21 July 1930, to consolidate and coordinate government activities affecting war veterans. The VA encompassed the functions of the former U.S. Veterans' Bureau, the Bureau of Pensions of the Interior Department and the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. On 25 October 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed legislation creating a new federal Cabinet-level Department of Veterans Affairs to replace the Veterans Administration effective 15 March 1989 (V.A.)
Veteran’s healthcare has recently been the subject of much discussion within American political circles. However, most ordinary Americans know little of this burning issue. Although support for veterans has risen to its highest levels compared to other times in American history, veterans need more than support to survive; they ne...
... middle of paper ...
... once they get discharged from the military, since many injuries surface years later or go undetected. Can you imagine a future where a mandatory draft will be needed because young men and women will not join the military? The fight for veteran healthcare is a battle that veterans can’t afford to lose.
Work Cited
Edsall, Thomas B. “Funds for veterans healthcare is $1 billion short.” Washingtonpost.com. WEB. 24 June 2005.
Nardin, Rachel “Healthcare for vets - and all others” The Boston Globe. 11 NOV 2007: N. Pag. Boston.com. WEB. 10 Nov 2009.
www.VA.Gov.
The mission statement of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) is, “To fulfill President Lincoln's promise ‘To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan’ by serving and honoring the men and women who are America’s vete...
It’s hard for civilians to see what veterans had to face and still do even after all is said and done. The rhetorical strategies that contribute to Grady’s success in this article is appealing to the reader’s emotions through the story of Jason Poole. Denise Grady’s “Struggling Back From War’s Once Deadly Wounds” acts as an admonition for the American public and government to find a better way to assist troops to land on their feet post-war. Grady informs the reader on the recent problems risen through advancements in medical technology and how it affected the futures of all the troops sent into the Iraq war.
The DVA provides the highest quality ensuring that all veterans and families receive the care and support they deserve by using people-centric, result-driv...
United States Government Accountability Office (2011). Veterans' Education Benefits: Enhanced Guidance and Collaboration Could Improve Administration of the Post-9/11 Program (GAO-11-356R). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
“Factors Affecting Health Care” (50-55) Demonstrates the sacrifices and how difficult it is for veterans to receive healthcare from the Department of Veteran Affairs.
When a soldier enlists in the United States military they make a promise to serve and protect our nation, putting their lives at risk to help keep America safe. Sadly when they finish their service they unknowingly enlist themselves in another war: to receive proper health care from VA. Things like long waiting times, understaffed facilities, and few care options for veterans in rural areas are just the beginning of the problems plaguing VA health care. Horrifying issues that are killing our veteran are beginning to surface such as employees falsifying records, outdated facilities spreading diseases, and patient neglect; all while key VA officials continue to scramble to cover things up. Our government must intervene quickly to fix the growing problems with VA health care so our veterans receive the care they were promised and should be receiving.
Steve Buyer, a member of the house of representatives from Indiana’s fourth district, once said, “Because all of us believe and understand in the fabric of the common bond of why we call ourselves American is to care for the men and women who wear the uniform; and when they take off the uniform, we care for them when they are veterans.” After men or women finish their time serving our country, and they take off their uniform, it does not rid the title of Veteran from them. They are still the brave ones who fought and served for America. The care for the Veterans of America is a crucial part in giving back to those who risked their lives for our country. Veterans need to be taken care of medically, mentally, and financially more as promised by President Obama. “It's a commitment that begins at enlistment, and it must never end. But we know that for too long, we've fallen short of meeting that commitment. Too many wounded warriors go without the care that they need. Too many veterans don't receive the support that they've earned. Too many who once wore our nation's uniform now sleep in our nation's streets."
N.p., n.d. Web. The Web. The Web. 2 Dec. 2013. http://www.va.gov/healthbenefits/apply/veterans.asp>.
The DAV was founded when our country was struggling with the effects of World War I. American veterans that came home from World War I started the DAV in 1920. A lot has changed in the last ninety-one years, but the wounded and sick from the wars still need the DAV's help in life cope with their disabilities (Wars & Scars 1). In 1932 the DAV was deemed the official voice of the nation’s wartime disabled veterans (About Disabled American Veterans 1). The DAV have many missions in helping the veterans. Some mission statements are “Providing a structure through which disabled veterans can express their compassion for their fellow veterans through a variety of volunteer programs” (Mission Statement 1), “Extending DAV's mission of hope into the communities where these veterans and their families live through a network of state-level Departments and local Chapter” (Mission Statement 1), and “Representing the interests of disabled veterans, their families, their widows and spouses, and their orphans before Congress, the White House, and the Judicial Branch, as well as state and local government”(Mission Statement 1). “Providing outreach concerning its program services to the Am...
When men and women are off to war, or serving the United States Military somewhere out in the world, social workers in the Department of Veteran Affairs are trained and educated to help our soldiers and their families stay physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy throughout each day. Social workers can be found at local VA Health Administration Branches in almost every state, and as well in-country bases occupied by American Forces located throughout the world. There are roughly 3,700 social workers in the Veterans Affairs Health Administration to date. This number shows huge growth from the original 14 that began over 80 years ago.
Every day a man comes home from war. Most having left their families as boys or young men trained in tactics and combat but never being trained effectively on stress management or the dangers of PTSD. Going into war soldiers are instructed to choke it down and bury it deep. Once introduced back into civilian life, where emotions are acceptable and tactics are not the answer, how do these men survive? How do they learn to cope? And most importantly how does the U.S. government train them for the next portion of their lives? In October of 2001 Operation Enduring Freedom, OEF, and Operation Iraqi Freedom, OIF, began and since then over 1.8 million troops have served at least one term ("PTSD in Service Members and New Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars," 2009). The Veterans population has increased immensely since the war began in 2001 and the type of warfare witnessed is much different than that of any other previous war.
In the United States, there are more than thousands of Americans who do not have the means to support themselves, hence they seek government benefits. Also, many people cannot afford proper insurance. For the Americans who are on public assistance, one of the biggest forms of assistance that the government offers is Medicare. Medicare is one of the many matters that are controversial ...
In 1636 the “Pilgrims passed a law which stated that disabled soliders would be supported by the colony.” (VA History) This paved the way for veterans’ benefits and healthcare. It wasn’t until 1811 that the federal government authorized the first medical and domiciliary facilities along with benefits and pensions for the veterans and their families. When the United States entered World War 1 in 1917, Congress created a new system for veterans’ benefits such as disability compensation, insurance, vocational rehabilitation. These benefits were directed by three different agencies in the Federal Government, these branches were the Veterans Bureau, the Bureau of Pensions of the Interior Department, and the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. Ten years later congress authorized the president to “consolidate and coordinate Government activities affecting war veterans”; this action united the three component agencies into bureaus under the veterans’ administration. In the following six decades there were vast increases in the veteran population, and new benefits enacted by congress for veterans following Wo...
In the opinion of many, there is nothing worse then seeing a veteran living on the streets, someone who risked their life for their country and then they get thrown out to fend for themselves. More than one in ten homeless adults are veterans, totaling to 47,725 homeless veterans or 11 percent of 436,921 homeless adults in 2015. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) states that the nation’s homeless veterans are predominantly male, with roughly 9% being female. Homelessness as a whole has been decreasing for years, including the veteran population, dropping 35% since
With the United Nations listing health care as natural born right and the escalating cost of health care America has reached a debatable crisis. Even if you do have insurance it's a finical strain on most families.