By Heather M. Ross, HSD student
Proposals for new legislation to fix the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are flying in Congress. Unfortunately, each is problematically simple and pretends that the VA system represents an isolated case of inadequate healthcare services in the U.S. The reality is that there is no simple fix for the VA, and the VA case is no different than the daily circumstance of low- and middle-income Americans both in and out of the VA system, except that Americans owe a special debt to veterans that surpasses even the most ardent argument for healthcare as a fundamental right for all people. None of the proposals for increased regulation, increased accountability, increased funding to hire more providers, or allowing for access to civilian providers will fix the problem.