The National Conference of Viet Nam Veteran Ministers, an organization composed of clergy who served in Viet Nam, meeting in Lantana, Florida, on October 26th through 30th, 1994, issued the following statement concerning the issue of Veterans' Health Care:
As the national debate on health-care reform continues, we call upon our nation's leaders to reaffirm our historic commitment to health-care as we join other veterans' organizations in calling upon our nations' current administration to ensure that veterans' health-care is a full partner in health care reform.
Veterans who choose VA health-care must be assured that they will receive a guaranteed, comprehensive benefits package. The present spotty and inefficient eligibility system must be reformed.
Veterans must know that the nation's leaders will stand behind the VA health-care system to provide care for those who have cared for their nation, risking both life and health.
Veterans must be confident that the VA health-care system will maintain its unique and widely beneficial specializations in rehabilitation, prosthetics, spinal cord injury, blindness, mental health, aging, and long-term care.
To achieve this, we call upon our nation's leaders to provide adequate funding for the VA health-care system, and to revamp the overall delivery system, thus insuring that the VA health-care system will remain a major national asset in medical education and research as well as a vital back-up for our nation in times of national crisis.
Return to Peace and Justice Statements.