Issue 351 Privatize the V.A. June 5, 2014

With the recent events of the Veterans Administration scandal of the two lists which hid the fact that the V.A. was covering up veterans dying while waiting to be treated, a solution must be had.  Even before this, the V.A. could be considered to have lackluster care in certain areas of health care.  As such, just like with the U.S.O. toward the end in the late 40's after World War II, I believe the V.A. should be privatized.

Why privatized:  Reason being is that just like most bureaucratic bodies in government, organizations are either top heavy or duplicative.  As such money is wasted, patronage appoints the least skilled, and most of all it affects quality of the services that are meant to be delivered.  So like the U.S.O. which is one of the prime examples that we can provide for our troops without government aid, we hence can use the same model to care for our soldiers in uniform, whether they are still active or not.  Other private organizations like the Fisher House Foundation and Hospitals work off of donations to provide care on par or equal to those of other and possibly better funded organizations. People like Bill O'reilly of Fox News, Glenn Beck of the Blaze, and many actors and others in various industries aid in the cause to help people like our Veterans, and more each and every day whether that be by acting as spokesmen/women or starting and running foundations themselves as non-for profits.  The U.S.O works off of private donations and volunteers to provide troops with entertainment and other services around the world, so what makes health care any different?

Generosity:  Some may be skeptical about the privatization of the V.A.  Maybe because health care is typically more expensive than most things in existence for various reasons, with issues stemming from war possibly becoming more expensive.  However, I present to you a list of the top 50 non-for profit medical institutions in the United States via this web address: 

http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/lists/50-top-grossing-nonprofit-hospitals-2013.html  

The reason these hospitals can function is due to them having so many generous people seeking to help.  Also, there are other hospitals that are non-profit that specifically treat one of the most expensive diseases known to man, cancer.  So hospitals like the Shriners Hospital for children fight for the lives of children with support from people like you and me.  So why can't the Veterans Administration do the same?  Why do they have to be different and for them to screw up so royally like this?

Conclusion:  We can take care of our Veterans without the V.A. or a newer privatized version.  This is because we as Americans see it as a privileged to be able to give back to those who risk their lives to protect us, who sacrifice so much for our wellbeing and freedom.  So I say privatize the V.A.  and let those who see Veterans as more than numbers on an account sheet take care of them.