Washtenaw Now: Walberg listens to veterans' concerns at town hall
March 4, 2015
A small, but passionate number of veterans turned out Monday for a chance to ask questions of Congressman Tim Walberg about issues that concern them.
Walberg hosted the Veterans Town Hall at the VFW post on South Wagner Road. Local officials were unapologetic about the small turnout that totaled 16 people included Walberg staff and senior leadership from state organizations and the Veterans Affairs office.
The Republican lawmaker talked briefly about the work that is being done in Washington to improve the care for veterans, especially those requiring medical and mental health attention. Congress has been active in dealing with the oversight of the VA following discoveries of massive backlogs of disability claims at VA hospitals across the nation.
Legislation has become law to eliminating backlog, and making sure the VA administrators are doing their jobs.
Michigan used to be one of the worst states regarding disability claims, James Dempsey, state commander for Disabled American Veterans, said. The state used to farm out disability claims, but after reforms and an influx of new workers, it imports claims from other states, he said.
The VA hospital in Ann Arbor has become one of the top facilities in the nation. Staffing has risen sharply with current staffing at 2,400 full-time equivalent workers. The facility has been authorized to add another 124 people by 2016, director Robert P. McDivitt said.
The facility has hired 25 people so far and has another 30 under recruitment with the remainder to come in 2016. The new hires include doctors, nurses, therapists, pharmacists and the like.
Both Dempsey and McDivitt have seen the growth first hand. Dempsey came to the DAV in 2002 and at that time the Ann Arbor hospital had only 1,625 staff members. For McDivitt, he has seen 600 full-time staff added in just five years.
Walberg said he never served in the military. The closet he came was having a physical at the induction center in Chicago done in 1970. He told the audience he hoped his time in the Michigan and U.S. houses of Representatives made up for what he didn't do in uniform.
But veterans are seldom out of his mind as he walks to work and passes by the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington.
Walberg talked about efforts in Washington to protect whistleblowers that see something wrong going on at the VA; changing the rules regarding Obamacare that would exempt veterans who are getting medical insurance from the government, from having to be covered by employers. This would go a long way in getting veterans back to work and allow companies to grow.
The House passed the bill 412-0, but the Senate has yet to take it up, Walberg said.
He also talked about changes in the Choice card program that would make it easier for veterans who live far away from designated care centers to use a private source for service. As it stands now, the program limits veterans to those who live outside a 40-mile radius (as the crow flies).
"I want to make sure veterans issues stay at the top of the pile," Walberg said.
Walberg faced questions regarding people who have lost limbs and what priority of care they are receiving. This question came up after Walberg said the nation's 75 Congressional Medal of Honor recipients had been upgraded to Priority 1 for care.
Walberg said he would leave the other cases to the expertise of the VA.
Walberg, with assists from Dempsey and McDivitt were able to respond to questions about dependent care, single parent veterans and the homeless.
Walberg said the best way to resolve homelessness is by growing the economy so veterans can get jobs and off the streets.
Another issue was the low reimbursements for TriCare, a medical insurance program for active duty and retired military personnel. The problem is that many doctors won't accept TriCare because of the low reimbursement rates.
Through changes from the Affordable Care Act, deductibles have doubled, tripled or quadrupled, Walberg said. A few people have experienced an improvement, but the majority has not.
"We have to fix, repair or replace Obamacare," Walberg said.
Walberg was asked to go back to Washington and see what could be done to get federal agencies from hindering work done by private groups who seek out and return remains of lost servicemen from past wars.
"Just pull the roadblocks out and let us work together," Paul Schwimmer said.
Walberg closed with a jab at the current and recent administrations methods of dealing with the war on terror and the Middle East.
"We could prosecute the battles in the Mideast if we listened to our ground commanders and not our military leaders," Walberg said. "Military leaders are political."
In related news:
Walberg's office will host a Military Academy Day in Jackson March 10. Prospective students who want to be nominated for a slot in one of the nation's military academies will be interviewed by a committee.
Walberg will not be involved in the interviews, taking the politics out of the equation, he said.
"I only make the phone call to tell the student he has been nominated," Walberg said. "The Committee sits with poker faces while the kids sit answering questions.
"We get the highest percentage of nominees who get full nominations."
To read the original article, click here.
Walberg hosted the Veterans Town Hall at the VFW post on South Wagner Road. Local officials were unapologetic about the small turnout that totaled 16 people included Walberg staff and senior leadership from state organizations and the Veterans Affairs office.
The Republican lawmaker talked briefly about the work that is being done in Washington to improve the care for veterans, especially those requiring medical and mental health attention. Congress has been active in dealing with the oversight of the VA following discoveries of massive backlogs of disability claims at VA hospitals across the nation.
Legislation has become law to eliminating backlog, and making sure the VA administrators are doing their jobs.
Michigan used to be one of the worst states regarding disability claims, James Dempsey, state commander for Disabled American Veterans, said. The state used to farm out disability claims, but after reforms and an influx of new workers, it imports claims from other states, he said.
The VA hospital in Ann Arbor has become one of the top facilities in the nation. Staffing has risen sharply with current staffing at 2,400 full-time equivalent workers. The facility has been authorized to add another 124 people by 2016, director Robert P. McDivitt said.
The facility has hired 25 people so far and has another 30 under recruitment with the remainder to come in 2016. The new hires include doctors, nurses, therapists, pharmacists and the like.
Both Dempsey and McDivitt have seen the growth first hand. Dempsey came to the DAV in 2002 and at that time the Ann Arbor hospital had only 1,625 staff members. For McDivitt, he has seen 600 full-time staff added in just five years.
Walberg said he never served in the military. The closet he came was having a physical at the induction center in Chicago done in 1970. He told the audience he hoped his time in the Michigan and U.S. houses of Representatives made up for what he didn't do in uniform.
But veterans are seldom out of his mind as he walks to work and passes by the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington.
Walberg talked about efforts in Washington to protect whistleblowers that see something wrong going on at the VA; changing the rules regarding Obamacare that would exempt veterans who are getting medical insurance from the government, from having to be covered by employers. This would go a long way in getting veterans back to work and allow companies to grow.
The House passed the bill 412-0, but the Senate has yet to take it up, Walberg said.
He also talked about changes in the Choice card program that would make it easier for veterans who live far away from designated care centers to use a private source for service. As it stands now, the program limits veterans to those who live outside a 40-mile radius (as the crow flies).
"I want to make sure veterans issues stay at the top of the pile," Walberg said.
Walberg faced questions regarding people who have lost limbs and what priority of care they are receiving. This question came up after Walberg said the nation's 75 Congressional Medal of Honor recipients had been upgraded to Priority 1 for care.
Walberg said he would leave the other cases to the expertise of the VA.
Walberg, with assists from Dempsey and McDivitt were able to respond to questions about dependent care, single parent veterans and the homeless.
Walberg said the best way to resolve homelessness is by growing the economy so veterans can get jobs and off the streets.
Another issue was the low reimbursements for TriCare, a medical insurance program for active duty and retired military personnel. The problem is that many doctors won't accept TriCare because of the low reimbursement rates.
Through changes from the Affordable Care Act, deductibles have doubled, tripled or quadrupled, Walberg said. A few people have experienced an improvement, but the majority has not.
"We have to fix, repair or replace Obamacare," Walberg said.
Walberg was asked to go back to Washington and see what could be done to get federal agencies from hindering work done by private groups who seek out and return remains of lost servicemen from past wars.
"Just pull the roadblocks out and let us work together," Paul Schwimmer said.
Walberg closed with a jab at the current and recent administrations methods of dealing with the war on terror and the Middle East.
"We could prosecute the battles in the Mideast if we listened to our ground commanders and not our military leaders," Walberg said. "Military leaders are political."
In related news:
Walberg's office will host a Military Academy Day in Jackson March 10. Prospective students who want to be nominated for a slot in one of the nation's military academies will be interviewed by a committee.
Walberg will not be involved in the interviews, taking the politics out of the equation, he said.
"I only make the phone call to tell the student he has been nominated," Walberg said. "The Committee sits with poker faces while the kids sit answering questions.
"We get the highest percentage of nominees who get full nominations."
To read the original article, click here.
Issues:Veterans