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Ryan Britch | March 24, 2020

Read: Reform VA

IAVA Government Affairs Associate, Ryan Britch shares insights on modernizing government to support today’s veterans.

The 2014 Phoenix scandal exposed many problems at VA medical facilities across the country.  IAVA has been a leader in the fight to protect veterans and increase accountability. We supported empowering the VA Secretary with the tools to expedite the removal of employees who harm veterans, and following advocacy by IAVA and our VSO partners, the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act was finally signed into law in 2017. 

IAVA Stormer, Corey Foster, Army veteran, planting flags to illustrate the veteran suicide crisis.

IAVA also worked with our VSO partners to finally reform and streamline the VA’s disability appeals process with passage of the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act.  VA has made progress since 2014 and our most recent survey year shows that IAVA members are reporting better healthcare experiences. Fifty-nine percent rate their overall VA healthcare experience as excellent or good. This is a steady increase from 54% in 2019 and 42% in 2017. And this is a clear a sign that efforts by the VA and Congress to reduce wait times, improve customer service, and increase patient satisfaction are starting to pay off. But there is still much more work to do. 

The VA MISSION Act, which passed into law in 2018, was meant to consolidate, reform, and strengthen community healthcare options for veterans, while sunsetting the Veterans Choice Program. For years, IAVA has advocated for the consolidation of VA’s community care programs. With that goal now achieved, monitoring and assisting with its implementation is paramount. 

Only 36% of our members are familiar with VA’s Community Care Program and only 16%  have used it. While only a small percentage have used the program our data shows that veterans’ experiences are overwhelmingly positive. Of those that had used the program, 63% rated the program as good or excellent, 6% higher than at VA. Additionally, our data shows that our members are receiving higher quality and more timely medical care with the Community Care Program than with VA. Sixty-eight percent of IAVA members report feeling that Community Care providers provide them with timely and quality care compared to only 56% at VA. 

There is a long road ahead of us; it will take the will of Congress, the Administration, and the American public to continue on this path toward a truly integrated network of VA health care.

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