According to CNN:

Not likely...as in typical government fashion I'm sure a blue ribbon panel will be formed to look into, make reccomendations, and then some giant government program will be developed to accomplish in 10 years and 20 billion dollars what would take private enterprise half the time and 1/10 the money...

I wonder if they are going to do anything for vets who did not serve in military conflicts. One of my relatives spent 20 years in the military just to see his medical benefits decrease...

I'm curious as to what benefits your relative has seen diminish. I spent 26 years in the Air Force, and my medical benefits are just as good as while I was on active duty.

Who's benefits are decreasing?

The federal government's budget for the VA has doubled since the 90's.

The VA budget for 2008 is $87 billion. You can view the documents below....

Budget Summary Volume:

http://www.va.gov/budget/summary/VolumeIVSummaryVolume.pdf

http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1289

The graph below shows VA budget increases up to 2005.



There has always been problems with the VA medical system. It is a government run health system and will always have problems.

Walter Reed is an Army Hospital. Veterans who are part of the VA system can get care there, but it is not a VA hospital.

The entire system is a complicated bureaucracy.

The same media that goes around intentionally looking for problems with Walter Reed and the VA system for political theater, are the same media that wishes to impose government run healthcare on the entire populace.

Health care gov. ran or otherwise has got its issues. The key thing to understand is that there are a bunch of suite an tie guys/gals who know DICK about health care makeing the rules. One could say the same for fighting wars.

My wife quite the VA after seeing all the managers and suckups getting raises while the equipment shortages and nursing shortages just got worse and worse.

She was a Chemo RN, and was just going nuts at seeing the waste of money and manpower that the management has sucked up over the years. People just doing mediocre work, for great pay and benefits, and there was no way to get rid of them. If they could weed through all the crap, get rid of it, and then actually use the money freed up from that, they could do a ton of great work.

But as usual, too many chiefs, not enough indians.

I was just recently discharged from the Army for medical reasons and the VA is certainly in no hurry to treat my spine issues and the condition affects my general health, work efficiency and quality of life. They'll get to me, but it'll be months. I'm still waiting to be evaluated and treated for my PTSD which my family noticed is working it's way into the open. Carl T. Hayden in Phoenix is swamped with veterans, most are seniors and getting an appointment takes months. That's not much of a benefit.

Did not check the sources above, but my family did not see any improvements. My step-dad who spent 22 years in a Navy earned several medals, a disability and no dental insurance. WTF? Hospitals and benefits have become a drag as well. Last time I talked to my mom, they were relying on her insurance 100%.