A War Back Home

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According to the Department of Defense, 180,000 Americans enlist each year for a considerable amount of time in the military. America’s 2 million strong military sacrifice their freedoms to protect ours. The veterans who come back home, especially with a mental or physical injury, their treatment provided by the government had little help even though government has tried to fix the problem.

The Veteran Affair scandal which involved veterans not receiving care needed by being on a “wait-list” sometimes up to 90 days not receiving the treatment they deserve. For 35 veterans, this resulted in the loss of their lives. Reforms made in months before have shown that the waiting lists have stayed in the range of 60-90 day range. A later internal investigation stated that a large number of veterans being misdiagnosed to save money. This resulted in veterans receiving delayed treatment or not even receiving it.  

Although the VA has tried to fix what they have been doing wrong as stated in this article. Lawmakers provided the VA with an additional 16.3 billion dollars to help fund hospitals and hire doctor. Appointments handled by the VA has went up by 4.5% compared to earlier year, but referrals to the private sector of doctors is rising along with it. This means the VA can’t handle the increase of veterans coming to the VA for help. Where does that leave our veterans who have sacrificed so much so that we didn't have to?

Future Research: What can civilians do to help veterans?