March 28, 2024

Vets high on the priority list during Young coffee

The warm lighting and coffee-smelling air created an air of informality for a town hall-like coffee that Rep. David Young (IA-R) hosted Thursday at Adams Street Espresso.

The coffee brought a group of concerned citizens and a class of high-school students to listen to Young answer questions about issues important to them, particularly veteran’s affairs.

“I just got an email yesterday from the VA (Department of Veterans Affairs): ‘This week, we reduced the disability claims backlogging at 90,000 claims, an 84 percent reduction from its peak historic low,” said Richard James of Creston. “There are over 10 million claims being backlogged at the VA right now, and I am actually one of those people.”

James and Young discussed the VA scandal in 2014, when 35 veterans died waiting for healthcare in Phoenix, Ariz., because of delays in getting proper healthcare to those and many other veterans.

“They’re so backlogged with the problem,” James said. “There’s just a big cluster of not getting the ball rolling in their home states.”

Young explained the scandal to the crowd and what’s been done since then to improve healthcare to those who served in the United States Military.

“We also passed a bill to allow veterans to basically receive healthcare wherever they need. If they’re doing okay, if they’re at a veteran’s hospital and they want to stay there, they’re good. If not, you should have the option to get taken care of wherever you see fit because you put your life on the line for us,” Young said.

The bill, called the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014, was passed in 2014 to provide more options for veterans in choosing their own healthcare.

Also, the VA Accountability Act of 2015 was passed in July, which provides protection to whistle blowers and strengthen accountability and performance measures for senior VA employees.