What Can Be Done to Help Our Veterans? Geoff Diehl Has a Plan

What Can Be Done to Help Massachusetts Veterans? One U.S. Senate Candidate Has a Plan
By David DeCoste

Holding veterans in high esteem is one of the few issues that seems to be bipartisan in the US. It’s an expectation for every elected official, regardless of political party. Despite this, the national prioritization of veteran care has declined in the last decade, leaving citizens to question the truth behind this rhetoric. Massachusetts is no exception, and veterans are forced to endure an increasingly inadequate system. As recently as this month, some Massachusetts veterans were being misdiagnosed and associated with medical records that were up to forty percent inaccurate. As a former Army major and current State Representative, I know that Massachusetts must seize every opportunity to do more for its veterans.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has failed miserably at providing veterans with the quality of support and care that they are owed, particularly when it comes to healthcare. Wait times have been steadily increasing since 2001, with veterans waiting up to six months for appointments and one in six clinics operating over capacity. As the demand for VA services increases, it becomes alarmingly clear that they are not equipped to provide veterans with the resources and services promised to them, such as consistent access to affordable healthcare, mental health services, and emergency aid for homeless veterans. The issue has shown no sign of alleviating, and a 2014 report found that over 307,000 veterans have died while awaiting access to preventative and curative care.

While the poor state of veteran care is an ongoing epidemic across the United States, we in Massachusetts have the opportunity for more immediate change. Massachusetts State Rep. Geoff Diehl, the endorsed Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, has a plan that I believe will help every veteran successfully transition back to civilian life while also taking control of their own healthcare, professional training, and education. Key tenets of the plan include increasing the number of mental healthcare providers available to veterans, enabling veterans to seek care either through the VA or private practitioners, extending increased college credit in exchange for military experience, and an increased focus on initiatives for alleviating veteran homelessness and increasing access to women’s and family health care for female veterans. As a veteran and a serving member of the Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs, I know first-hand that Diehl’s desire to attack the issues at their core is exactly the mentality that will best serve Massachusetts veterans and put the state on track for immediate progress.

Diehl’s plan aims to assist veterans quickly and efficiently by attacking the problem at its roots. The VA is currently in the process of implementing an IT system that will allow for accessible digital records. However, the implementation of this system is predicted to take up to two years, and then another eight to transition its data into the new system. This system will function independently from hospital systems, making it challenging to transfer records from current providers. Diehl hopes to offset this with the creation of a pilot program based in Massachusetts that will house veteran records in a digitally compatible format and work in conjunction with existing state hospital and patient portals. Diehl also hopes to supplement this system by allowing veterans to seek care through private practitioners, freeing them from restrictive wait time and distance requirements currently held in place by the Veterans Choice Program, which require veterans to seek care from the VA clinic geographically closest to them, even if another is a shorter drive or has more immediate appointment openings. These actions will allow for an improved digital system that will reduce strain, alleviate wait times, and allow veterans the dignity of choice when it comes to determining what best meets their needs.

Another driver of inferior veteran care is a lack of accountability placed on the Department itself. Diehl believes that the appointment of a private watchdog organization will place a higher level of liability on the Department and help ensure that they take quality control seriously, and force them to evaluate how to better allocate their resources. Currently, homeless veterans and veterans struggling with transitioning to civilian life make up 11 percent of the country’s adult homeless population. Additional support is needed for housing these veterans, particularly those with children, and to help remove barriers to higher education. Diehl’s plan calls for a combination of Department accountability and citizen and legislative activism to help connect veterans with these resources that they need to thrive.

While veterans’ issues will continue to be at the forefront of national domestic policy, we in Massachusetts have an opportunity to take active and measured steps towards demonstrable progress, and adopt a plan that if successful can expand throughout the country. Diehl’s plan for veterans is scalable, can create immediate change, and considers the holistic challenges faced by veterans. The people of Massachusetts have an opportunity to give their veterans the high quality of care, funding, and support they deserve, and I look forward to seeing a future where Massachusetts leads the nation in thorough and effective veteran services.

David DeCoste has served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives since 2014