Some progress made for veterans’ health

For American veterans who need medical care, the situation looks different than it did two years ago — and for that matter, three days ago.

In 2014, the health care scandal that swept through the Department of Veterans Affairs — hopelessly long wait times, botched recordkeeping, a suicide epidemic and inadequate treatment of “invisible” wounds like PTSD — triggered a national uproar and calls for major reforms.

On Wednesday, America woke up to a new president-elect, Donald Trump, who, in his victory speech, promised to “finally take care of our great veterans.”

Today, Veterans Day, when we honor the sacrifices of our service members and their families, we take stock of what has been accomplished and what still needs to be done.

Over the last two years, funding for the VA increased substantially to deal with the wait times and other health care problems. Things have improved somewhat, but the VA’s shortcomings still reverberate.

The VA branch serving Hawaii and the Pacific had one of the largest wait lists for primary care in the entire VA system in February 2014; a year later, the list had been whittled down substantially, according to a September report by the VA. Reimbursements for travel benefits — a key concern in a service area spanning Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa and Saipan — are being processed more quickly, the report said.

Nationally, however, two years of effort have not improved wait times for many veterans: about 536,000 veterans wait more than a month for care, according to recent VA data. Furthermore, the suicide rate for veterans remain disturbing; it’s higher than among the civilian population, and higher among those veterans who did not use VA services.

Trump’s plan to help veterans includes stronger oversight of those providing veterans services, and providing more access to physical and mental health care through partial privatization of the VA. Both President Barack Obama and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton oppose a privatized VA, but elections have consequences. And there is no denying the need for more and better services. The number of veterans seeking health care through the VA has expanded significantly, a trend expected to continue through 2019, according to a RAND survey. Many of those are veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts who require sophisticated and long-term care.

While the VA is capable of providing high-quality care, easier access for veterans to private medical services should be considered as well.

The RAND study noted that demand could decrease in the long term unless eligibility expands, access to service improves, or there is a future conflict.

The latter should give government officials pause. As we have seen in Iraq and Afghanistan, the brutal cost of wars includes the long-term or permanent care of those who fight and return home wounded. As commander-in-chief, Trump will have broad powers to send troops into battle; he should keep the U.S. out of armed conflicts unless absolutely necessary. War is a terribly expensive and unreliable form of foreign policy, and America’s service members should not be sacrificed for dubious political ends.

In his speech on Wednesday, Trump noted that veterans have supported his candidacy.

“They’ve been so loyal, and I’ve gotten to know so many over this 18-month journey,” he said. “The time I’ve spent with them during this campaign has been among my greatest honors. Our veterans are incredible people.”

Yes, they are. A fitting tribute to all of American veterans — past, present and future — would be to pursue policies that respect their service. That includes providing the medical care necessary to heal the wounds of war. It also includes a wise, forbearing foreign policy that avoids unnecessary wars in the first place.