More funds sought for Maine veterans

WASHINGTON – Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi has assured Maine’s congressional delegation that the Bush administration will seek additional funding for veterans’ health in Maine and New England.

The new funding will cover the cost of thousands of new veterans who have enrolled in the VA system in the past year. Maine will receive about $8 million in new VA funding under the plan.

Principi said the administration will request $142 million in supplemental funding to offset veterans’ health costs for the nation in this fiscal year, and said the VA will work to adjust the medical care formula to better meet the needs of veterans with issues that are not service-related. The announcement will ease the shortfall encountered in veterans funding for Maine and the region.

“Maine’s veterans deserve to know they can receive high-quality health care through the VA, and fortunately Maine’s system provides that level of care,” Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins said in a joint press release. “But flaws in the system the VA uses to allocate funds consistently underestimate resources that are needed to maintain basic services at Togus, and these same challenges extend throughout the New England region as well.”

The senators and U.S. Reps. John Baldacci and Tom Allen said they were pleased the administration was recommending funding to meet the shortfall, but added they would continue working toward long-term solutions.

Principi indicated that the VA is re-evaluating its national funding formula, known as VERA. This formula allocates money to the various VA regions throughout the country.

Principi said the VERA review is being conducted, in part, to determine if more money can be made available to the New England Region by providing additional resources to meet the needs of “Category 7” veterans. These are individuals who do not have service-connected disabilities and whose income does not fall below a low-income threshold. The number of individuals in this classification has escalated rapidly at Togus and other VA medical centers in New England. Unfortunately, the VERA formula does not provide money to cover their care.

In another joint release, Baldacci and Allen said they were encouraged that the VA was re-evaluating the VERA funding formula.

“The Northeast has suffered under its provisions, and reforms are long overdue. With more and more veterans seeking assistance through Togus and the VA clinics across Maine, we need a funding process which properly recognizes our state’s needs and circumstances,” Baldacci and Allen said.