Fixing What Really Ails Veterans' Care

The departure of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki may seem like a reasonable first step toward fixing the mess at the agency. The problems that cost Shinseki his job, however, are so severe—veterans waiting an average of 115 days for their first primary-care appointment at a facility in Phoenix and similar delays elsewhere—that a change at the top won’t put things right.

What will? One approach, advocated by Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) and others, is to give veterans “the right to choose where and when they get their medical care.” House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has called for privatizing the VA, and House Veterans Affairs Chairman Jeff Miller wants the agency to pay for veterans to get private care if they wait more than 30 days for VA care. Veterans groups counter that the VA is uniquely suited to deal with trauma-related injuries, prosthetics, and mental health. They argue that the influx of new veterans following the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan means the agency’s health-care services need more money.