VA Chief Says 'Enough'

9/3/02
[The following article is provided courtesy of Armed Forces News. To sign up for a free subscription, visit the Armed Forces News Website.]

Although insurance reimbursements are cascading into the Department of Veterans Affairs' coffers, Veterans Affairs Department secretary Anthony Principi is talking of suspending enrollment of lower-priority veterans into the health-care system, and capping the number of veterans who can enroll, or limiting annual open enrollment periods. The department floated the idea (rejected by Congress) of a $1,500 deductible for higher- income beneficiaries. The VA has told its network directors to stop marketing for new patients. Here are a few reasons why:

-Since 1995, the number of VA enrollees for medical care has shot up from 2.9 million to more than 6 million, with total beneficiaries heading to more than 8 million by 2006 and almost 9 million by 2012.

- From 1995 to now, the VA's annual budget for medical care has climbed only 32 percent, from $16.2 billion to $21.4 billion.

-Veterans with no service-connected disabilities and higher incomes are flocking in for 30-day prescriptions at $7.

- With the addition of a lower-rung priority group of non-service-connected veterans, such beneficiaries make up 33 percent of all enrollees, with a projected jump to 42 percent by 2010.