Help needed re: Project 2025

[bluescribbler]

Can someone pleas point me to the page where they propose cutting funds for the VA? I may need the citation in a discussion with a MAGAT who thinks he supports vets.

[magicarpet]

1. Project 2025 severely cuts veterans benefits.

Cutting benefits for disabled veterans
Project 2025 proposes making it harder for veterans to obtain disability benefits by reducing the number of medical conditions that service members can claim to qualify for disabled status. Under the change, veterans currently eligible for a disability rating but who have not yet made claims could be denied benefits entirely, and those who have already made claims and been granted a disability rating could see their benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and other safety net benefits slashed. Project 2025 also pushes to automate claims, which could increase denial rates—similar to the experience patients have had with health insurance denials—and place a heavier administrative burden on veterans.

Cutting health coverage for veterans and reducing the quality of care
Although the Veterans Health Administration provides health insurance to many veterans, many younger than 65 are enrolled in Medicaid. Roughly 1 in 10 service members rely on Medicaid for health care coverage, with 2 in 5 relying on Medicaid exclusively. Project 2025 proposes capping Medicaid payments to states with no regard for their actual spending needs on health and long-term care and giving states the power to deny coverage of particular services, including long-term services and supports such as home- and community-based care. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the proposed funding caps could force states to restrict eligibility for certain types of services and supports currently provided through Medicaid. Alternatively, Medicaid funding caps could force states to deny coverage of particular benefits, especially costly services such as long-term care. A separate Project 2025 proposal to force VA hospitals to “increase the number of patients seen each day to equal the number seen by DoD medical facilities” would significantly undermine the quality of care.

Exacerbating veteran homelessness
In 2008, amid the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. departments of Housing and Urban Development and Veterans Affairs launched a Supportive Housing program to fight veteran homelessness. Thanks to the program, 81,400 veterans receive support to obtain rental housing, with Congress having appropriated sufficient funds to help a remaining 35,000 homeless veterans to obtain housing and end veteran homelessness entirely.

https://www.americanprogress.org/article/project-2025s-plan-to-gut-checks-and-balances-harms-veterans/

[slightlv]

8. The Medicaid cuts

sounds kinda like what happened when Brownback killed Medicaid and went with KanCare. There used to be so much my sis and I were counting on for my Mom, but suddenly very little of it was there when she finally needed it, thanks to that evil cabal. I've come to the conclusion unless it's for their own household, Repugs should never get close to budgets and/or recommendations on budgets!

[magicarpet]

2. More info how Project 2025 cuts veteran benefits and access to care.

Reduction in Veterans’ Healthcare Benefits

In North Carolina, we have nearly 800,000 veterans who call our state home. Under Project 2025, these men and women who have made tremendous sacrifices in service for our country would see reduced monthly disability payments, and many who are currently eligible to receive benefits may no longer be eligible at all under the proposal.


Project 2025 Proposals

Impact on Veterans

Cut more than $37 million from veterans and service members’ benefits by eliminating concurrent eligibility for both service-related disability benefits and military retirement benefits, revising the disability rating awards (which determine eligibility for benefits and monthly disability compensation), and narrow eligibility for veterans' disability by excluding conditions not directly related to military service.


Tens of thousands of NC veterans may no longer be eligible for current retirement and/or disability benefits

Close numerous VA clinics and replace with Community Based Outpatient Clinics that offer fewer services, decreasing the standard of care for American veterans

Loss of critical healthcare services for veterans, especially those in rural areas

Privatize Veterans Health Administration and replace current leaders with political appointees


Changes in service and accessibility, increased political influence over VA, loss of jobs for service members and veterans

https://www.betterneighborsnetwork.org/post/north-carolina-veterans-military-families-would-see-major-cuts-under-project-2025-plan?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw9Km3BhDjARIsAGUb4nzBfaIHHWs3VFGgNjhXtbILT6MnPbMvWRXMmusNI3aZ15wafEKQBtgaAt7REALw_wcB

[TBF]

3. It is Chapter 20 by Brooks Tucker -

Last edited Wed Sep 18, 2024, 05:50 PM - Edit history (1)

in the book it begins page 641 (in the pdf page 674)

Wherever you see "Needed Reforms" you can read to see what they propose in terms of eliminating services. They want to stop building hospitals & outsource the care to other providers - that's one big thing which signals to me that veterans will not get the care they get now. They will have to find private providers willing to take whatever rates the VA deems appropriate.

Another thing that jumped out at me is on page 649 - where they talk about how current veterans have ailments that they think should not be tied to government service, ie they are proposing "reclassifying" people (cutting them from getting benefits). They use flowery language, but that's what it means.

When you do a search for "veterans" in the pdf there are 87 hits. They see it as a prime area for cutting funding.

PDF of the entire sordid thing: https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf

[mahina]

4. fucking monsters.

excuse me

[pwb]

5. How did we get to such a place where Veterans are an expense of doing business?

My benefits were from a grateful nation, I thought.

[TBF]

6. We shouldn't be there - but this is just another area where

folks believe what Trump and the republicans tell them. They don't understand that there are already extensive hoops that veterans jump through to get help. There are certainly ways to make programs more efficient, and sometimes the benefits you get depend upon how good your counselors are. But overall at least Veterans have had priority in their own hospitals and comprehensive care (dental, glasses, etc if they are completely disabled)

I'm pretty familiar with this topic. My father is a disabled war veteran, and didn't completely leave work until I was in high school. All he could do was drive forklift at the end, but he's a nice guy & his foremen worked with him until he got his 15 years in for a modest pension from his employer. Then he retired with social security and veteran's benefits (and they started doing the surgeries etc that he needed). His care from the VA over the years has been very good.

I could see that some changes might be positive - private medical clinics in some areas may be better than the aging VA hospitals. But I fear they will use this to simply try to cut costs whether it's best for the veteran or not. And the "re-classifying" really scares me - I feel that is how they'll really try to cut a lot of folks out "of the system".

[pwb]

7. It takes at least three doctors to sign off on a disability claim.

What is there to question?

[bluescribbler]

9. Thank you, all who replied.

This was exactly what I was looking for.