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12 N A T I O N A L N U R S E W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G A P R I L | M AY | J U N E 2 0 1 9 NEWS BRIEFS NATIONAL R ep. alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined veterans and registered nurses in April for a town hall discussion in the Bronx on protect- ing the Veterans Administration health care system from the threat of privatization. Nurses and veterans called for an immediate end to the administration's attacks on the VA health care system and demanding the VA be fully staffed and funded so it can continue to provide the highest quality of care to our nation's veterans. As of April 2019, there were nearly 43,000 vacancies in the VA health care system. Secretary of Veteran Affairs Robert Wilkie has billions of dollars at his disposal, yet he recently testified before Congress that fully staffing the VA is not a priority. Howev- er, he has said rolling out access to private sector care is a priority and the proposed 2020 VA budget request calls for 18 percent of the medical funding for the VA to be set aside for private sector care. "Caring for our veterans should not be for sale in America," said Rep. Ocasio- Cortez. "They're trying to fix the VA for pharmaceutical companies, … for insurance corporations, and ultimately, they are trying to fix the VA for a for-profit health care industry that does not put people or veter- ans first, and so we have a responsibility to protect it." The VA began moving veterans out of the VA into the private sector in June under newly proposed rules. Nurses opposed these rules, calling them "arbitrary", as they are based on wait times and driving distances, and they do not demand that private clini- cians meet the same exacting standards that VA facilities and clinicians are required to meet, nor do they take in to account the quality of care the veterans will receive. "As a nurse and a veteran who cares for the injuries to both the minds and bodies of other veterans, I know the specialized care they need, and the importance of their heal- ing together within a community of fellow veterans who understand their struggles and history," said Yesenia Novaton, RN. "We know the VA offers care that is designed to attend to not only the medical needs of veterans but also support them and their families. The VA is a unique and invaluable national asset that must be protected in order to fulfil its sacred duty to veterans." Nurses charge there is a concerted effort underway by the Koch brothers and others to starve the VA of necessary resources to func- tion at full capacity. Nurses know that as the VA spends money on private health care, which is more expensive and often inferior to VA care, fewer veterans will get care for the same cost. When money is siphoned away from the VA into the private sector, the VA will continue to be chronically short staffed and the VA health care system will erode, leading to the closure of VA facilities. Veter- ans will then find they have lost the VA health care system as a viable option, and will be forced to get care in the private sector "The VA … appears to be sliding too fast down the slippery slope toward privatization," warned John Rowan, the National Presi- dent of Vietnam Veterans of America, during a Congressional hearing in March. "If [Congress] choose[s] to let the Kochs and their allies have their way, veterans will suffer while private healthcare facilities and doctors will benefit." Other speakers at the town hall included Kristen Rouse of the NYC Veterans Alliance, Johnnie Williams of Help is on the Way, Skip Delano of Save Our VA, Veterans for Peace, and Jeremy Butler, Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America. —Staff report RNs and veterans expose privatization of VA health care Rep. Ocasio-Cortez joins the demand to protect VA health care system