Alan Simpson: “the legislation now before this body may be one of the most significant veterans' bills of the last few years. In…”

“the legislation now before this body may be one of the most significant veterans' bills of the last few years. In agreeing to this bill, the Congress will make, under the rubric of health care ``eligibility reform'', changes in the nature of our Nation's health care commitment to veterans that are more far-reaching than any decision since the end of World War II. The Congress faces the issue of setting priorities for VA care because all 26 million veterans are eligible for VA health care. However, VA care is not an entitlement. VA provides as much care to as many veterans as resources allow. Our Nation's historic commitment to veterans is to care for the wounds of war, that is, to care for service-connected disabilities. The VA hospital system was created to fulfill that obligation. And, having created a network of hospitals--now numbering 173--it made good sense to put it to use caring for non-service-connected veterans when space was available. That is how VA got into the business of caring for non-service-connected conditions and veterans. As so often happens, the world changed over time, while VA and the laws that govern VA lagged behind. Over time, the non-service-connected tail began to wag the service-connected dog. Today, 89 percent of VA's medical workload is care for non-service-connected conditions. VA built a hospital system at a time when the terms ``hospital care'' and ``medical care'' were synonymous.…”