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The Koch Brothers are Trying to Destroy the VA
CVA is Lying to You

CVA is Lying to You

Concerned Veterans of America – a group that was exposed as a Koch Brothers-funded front – has been attempting to dismantle the VA for years. Now they’re stepping up their attempts with a new misleading ad featuring a Purple Heart recipient.

The ad, “Purple Heart Recipient Struggles to Receive Timely Care From VA” features Ben Rangel, the Texas field director for CVA. In this 1:45 video, Rangel tells the heartbreaking tale of suffering injuries during a firefight in Iraq in 2004 and what was an all-too-familiar story of long waits and an inability to access care at the VA.

Unfortunately for CVA, Rangel’s return to the US, and subsequent problems with the VA don’t hold up to scrutiny.

Take a look at the transcript below to see what’s wrong:

"My name is Ben Rangel I’m from Dallas Texas.
I'm a Marine Corps veteran."

In 2004, I was hit by an IED during a convoy and received a Purple Heart. It's probably the only medal that most people don't want but it's the most recognized medal because it lets people know that we were in combat and they were close to some of the worst things that people have done during war.

I took shrapnel on the left side of my body. I didn't even realize I was wounded until the whole firefight was over. The month after getting out of the Marine Corps I went to the VA for the first time to seek physical therapy for my shoulder.

I was told I had to wait eight months. That was shocking to me that I gave eight years of my life to the Marine Corps and now I have to wait eight months this to receive care.

In the video, we are shown paperwork for Rangel that is from Veterans Evaluation Services, a private, for-profit contractor that was part of a $6.8 billion deal that has already been met with problems and complaints from veterans.

When I went back to the VA, I was told my shoulder didn't heal well. Everything could have been avoided if they would have allowed me to receive the care that I needed either at the VA or somewhere else.

As noted by Roscoe Butler, Deputy Director of The American Legion's Veteran Affairs and Rehabilitation Division in his testimony to Congress, “The 2014 wait time scandal helped to expose what veterans service organizations have been lawmakers about for years. That the VA has been systematically underfunded and was being forced to manage the budge and not budget to need.” In the three years since that scandal, the VA has increased clinical space, hired more workers, and as of March of this year, 96.82 percent of appointments were completed within 30 days of the clinically indicated or veteran’s preferred date.

"You just kind of get discouraged."

I think if the VA can’t handle the volume of veterans or the quality of care that veterans need, we should be able to go somewhere else.

As noted, the VA is completing nearly 97 percent of appointments within 30 days – and 90 percent of veterans were either “completely satisfied” or “satisfied” with getting an appointment when they wanted. That number is incredible when you consider the 49,000 vacancies nationwide – 40,000 of which have existed since at least 2014.
And as for the problem of handling patient volume, veterans at the VA wait an average of 6.5 days from their preferred date of care to see a primary care doctor, compared to 19.5 days for non-VA patients.

In the state of Texas, some places you can travel 200 miles to the nearest VA on the way there you passed eight hospitals they could be avoided by allowing us to go somewhere else to seek the health care that we need.

The Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 established a 30 day/40 mile rule that allows veterans to seek care outside the VA. This program has been littered with issues including outright theft of taxpayer dollars, but it’s disingenuous to imply that veterans don’t have it.

"We need legislation to be able to change that."

Again, the legislation already exists and has been a nightmare for veterans.

"CVA is partnering with elected officials all over the country."

Unlike other veterans’ groups, CVA lobbies aggressively to privatize the health care veterans fought for, gut the rights of VA workers, and reduce veterans' benefits in the name of smaller government. They have been behind some of the most nefarious legislation that would destroy the VA, and bought a seat at the table – while nearly every single legitimate veterans’ service organization was denied a voice – during the Commission on Care.

"We're developing legislative solutions to fix the VA. It’s common sense the veterans should have choices on the doctors they see."

Legislation to fix the VA already has been introduced in the House and Senate. AFGE supports Rep. Anthony Brown’s VA Staffing and Vacancies Transparency Act of 2017 and the Strengthening Veterans Health Care Act of 2017, introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders. Both bills address the glaring 49,000 vacancies at the VA and will improve patient wait times and care. Not only that, but veterans have made it clear their “choice” is the VA in both a 2017 VFW poll and 2015 VoteVets poll. In both instances a clear majority of veterans – 92 and 80 percent respectively – did not want to seek care outside of the VA.

"Congress needs to step up and pass these reforms so that we can continue to help our veterans."

So far, this year, Congress has only passed legislation at the VA that rolls back due process rights and makes it easier to fire the working people caring for our veterans – one third of whom are veterans themselves. And just last month numerous veterans service organizations – real ones, not puppets like CVA – testified on Capitol Hill that “When asked why they turn to VA for their health care needs, veterans report that VA delivers high quality care which is tailored to their unique needs and because VA health care is an earned benefit,” according to the VFW’s testimony.

It’s not a surprise that CVA is resorting to distortions of the truth to further their agenda. They represent corporate special interests and private, for-profit medical providers. They ignore the undisputed facts that the VA offers care unavailable in the private sector, and that veterans prefer it. Why? Because they stand to profit off of those who have borne the battle, and don’t mind spinning lies to make it happen.