VA’s Shulkin: Offering vets choices a priority

VA working to cover 100% of #veterans for mental health benefits, currently 45% are eligible 

---

Update: President Trump announced plans March 28 to nominate Ronny L. Jackson to replace David Shulkin as Veterans Affairs Secretary.

---

Giving veterans better choices when it comes to how they get services and benefits is a top priority at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Department, VA Sec. David Shulkin said March 5 in an address to NACo members.

That means working with Congress to eliminate rules that require that someone live 40 miles away from a VA hospital in order to get private-sector care, he noted. “They won’t have to drive so far,” he said. The VA secretary’s speech kicked off the General Session March 5 at NACo’s  2018 Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C.

Much of the VA’s work takes place in satellite VA centers where administrators work with local leaders, Shulkin said, especially at Community Veterans Experience Boards, which spurs local dialogues on veterans’ issues. “Counties matter — we can’t do this work from Washington,” he said.

Another top priority at the VA includes modernizing VA facilities, 60 percent of which are more than 50 years old, Shulkin said. Along with updating old buildings, he also hopes to see an overhaul of management practices and electronic records at the VA. The VA wait-time crisis that hit the news several years ago is a thing of the past, Shulkin said.

Today, 85 percent of veterans seeking help from the VA system are seen within seven days. The VA posts wait times on its website and it is 40 percent faster than the private sector, he noted.

Other good news: The VA has seen a 50 percent reduction in homelessness among veterans, he said and is working on creative solutions with local partners. The VA system is also preparing for the “silver tsunami,” with the average age of Vietnam vets currently at 66; as they continue to age, demands will grow, he said.

The Veterans Affairs Department is working on getting 100 percent of veterans covered for mental health benefits; currently only 45 percent are eligible, Shulkin noted.

The VA is also tackling the opioid abuse crisis, he said, by prescribing fewer opioids. He noted that prescription rates have seen a 41 percent decrease.

“We’re working with local governments to find solutions,” Shulkin said.