Privatizing VA services won’t improve patient care

The VA Mission Act in Congress creates a permanent Community Care program to replace the temporary Choice program that currently refers Veterans Administration patients to private providers. This will divert $22 billion over five years that could be used to address staffing shortages that have led to long wait times for care in some VA facilities.

The case for investing more VA resources on private care is based on specious claims of pervasive problems in wait times and poor quality of care. In fact, the VA’s record in both is exceptional.