Three Growing Risks

1. Workforce reductions without a clear objective, rationale, published objectives or impact assessment on Veterans’ healthcare access

2. Expansion of administrative authority into clinical decisions that are best left to patients, doctors, and others grounded in clinical care made by Veterans and their clinicians, and best guided by evidence, medical ethics, and the scientific method

3. Rapid growth of purchased (community) care that threatens to divert resources from VHA’s high-value direct care and, over time, Veterans’ earned benefits.*

*We support Community Care, which plays a valuable role in many veterans’ treatment.  At best, it reflects a mission-driven, public-private partnership—like those in VA’s Academic Affiliations program—that are central to VA’s past and future success.  Our concern is ensuring that policy and spending decisions are driven by Veterans’ needs, not vendor incentives or market pressures.