Connecticut strains along with the nation to improve healthcare for veterans

by Christine Moyer

WASHINGTON - Connecticut veterans often are not able to see doctors when they need to because the federal government has shortchanged the state's VA health care system, according to Rep. John Larson (D-1) and Connecticut veterans affairs officials.

Larson said the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs distributes money unfairly, doling out funds based on states' populations rather than the needs of their veterans.

"Here in Connecticut many veterans are not receiving the level of service that they deserve," Larson said in a statement Thursday.

But officials in other states have complained of the same problem, which they say will only worsen as soldiers return from Iraq. Those new veterans immediately step to the front of the line - they receive instant care -- meaning older veterans have to wait even longer.

Currently, the health-care crunch is particularly acute for aging veterans of the Korean and Vietnam wars.

Donna Meskony, the supervisor of the Office of Advocacy and Assistance for the Connecticut Department of Veterans' Affairs, said, "Because of the lack of funding, there is a lack of doctors. So there is a long wait for appointmentsá.

"The problem is not the quality of care but the quantity that's offered," she said.

Larson asserted that Connecticut veterans often require more health care and have fewer resources to pay for it than those in other states. He did not elaborate.

"The Northeast is being shortchanged," Larson said," because we are not receiving the level of resources that is comparable to the needs of our veterans."

Linda Schwartz, Connecticut's Veterans' Affairs commissioner, said the problem is that the federal government is constrained by a budget that is not based on medical requirements.

"No matter what veterans need, no matter what they want, they only get what's left over," she said.

"Today you're in the military and tomorrow you're in New Britain back at work," Schwartz said. "When they come home, will the VA be there for them?"

President Bush has asked Congress for $27.5 billion for VA health care for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. The Senate Appropriations Committee went further, approving a budget of more than $28.3 billion. That would represent an increase of about $3 billion over the current budget. The bill now goes to the full Senate.

Schwartz, a nurse during the Vietnam War, said that without more money, the quality of veterans' care will decrease.

"We need people on [Capitol] Hill saying that the veterans' bill needs to be bigger," Meskony said.

Larson is one such person. "There is no doubt that greater federal funding is needed in the area of veterans' health care," he said.

According to Larson, enrollment in the VA health-care system has more than doubled since 1995, making the funding shortfall that much more pressing.

Connecticut once was at the forefront of veterans' care: in 1864, it was the first state to provide medical treatment to Civil War soldiers.

Meskony said VA health care is still important. Among other services, it offers veterans prescriptions at the rate of $7 for a month's supply. Without the coverage, the same medication could cost hundreds of dollars a month, she said.

Soldiers returning from Iraq aren't yet plagued by the health-care problems their predecessors are battling. However, Schwartz is skeptical about how long that will last.

"Those returning from Iraq can have VA health care to help document their problems for two years," she said, asking, "But is there enough money for that to happen?"

Larson also has introduced legislation that he said would "ensure adequate health-care access by setting standards for appointments."