In his “Military Update” column carried by the Kitsap (WA) Sun (9/8) and other outlets, Tom Philpott focused on a proposal by Mitt Romney to open “military TRICARE networks of civilian health care [practitioners] to veterans who can’t get timely mental health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs,” According to Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, “the Romney idea has real merit” and “is a reasonable step on a path Miller wants to travel — giving veterans more access to private sector health care, at VA expense, rather forcing them to commute long distances to a VA facility or to endure long delays to get a VA appointment.” Miller says the Romney “idea…would swiftly address VA’s shortage of mental health care [professionals]…by immediately doubling the number of available mental health care [clinicians].”
Related Links:
— “TOM PHILPOTT | Proposal could shift VA from provider of mental health care to insurer, Kitsap Sun, September 7, 2012.