Donald Trump Plan To Reform Veterans Affairs - Trump Norfolk Rally

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• published: 31 Oct 2015
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Donald Trump unveiled his plan Saturday to reform the Department of Veterans Affairs on the USS Wisconsin in Norfolk Virginia. Donald Trump outlined an unreleased position paper to improve veterans’ health care and other services on Saturday, as he faces continued criticism for failing to provide policy specifics. The Republican presidential contender previewed his plans to reform the Department of Veterans Affairs at a campaign appearance in front of the battleship USS Wisconsin in Norfolk, Virginia — the same place where 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney announced his vice-presidential pick. Speaking in front of several thousand supporters Saturday, Trump argued that veterans should be able to receive treatment any time they want from any doctor or facility that accepts Medicare. The change, he said, would help improve wait times and services by adding competition. Also part of the plan is “firing the corrupt and incompetent VA executives who let our veterans down,” Trump said. Trump also said he wants to improve health services for female veterans, provide new incentives for companies to hire veterans and provide new assistance to help veterans adjust to civilian life. “We’re going to transform the VA to meet the needs of the 21st century,” Trump, who appeared to be reading his yet-to-be-released plans, said. “We’re going to make the VA great again.” Trump said that overall the changes he’d propose would cost less than the system now in place. Trump has made a point of criticizing the way veterans in the country are treated ever since he drew criticism by questioning Sen. John McCain’s status as a war hero early in his campaign. Trump has released policy papers on immigration, the Second Amendment and tax reform.Trump pledged at a campaign event here that he would cut down wait times, rein in bureaucracy and put the VA's health care centers in competition with private health care providers. Trump said under his presidency, veterans would be able to use their ID card to "get care immediately" at any private provider that accepts Medicare. He claimed that his plan would be more effective and "cost us less money." "They have earned the freedom to choose," Trump proclaimed. "We're going to transform the VA to meet the needs of the 21st century ... We're going to make the VA great again." Trump also talked up other proposals to help veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, including providing incentives for companies to hire veterans, providing business loans to veterans and overall ensuring veterans enjoy a more seamless transition to civilian life. Speaking in a city that serves as a naval hub, Trump emphasized that his plan would modernize the department and ensure that services "support the whole veteran," including access to both physical and mental healthcare. He did not say how much his plan would cost the federal government or how he would pay for his proposals, but his campaign said it would send a document explaining Trump's plan in greater detail later on Saturday. The Department of Veterans Affairs has become a political lightning rod since a CNN investigation last year revealed that veterans were sometimes waiting months to get care, in some cases resulting in deaths in cases where illnesses were treatable. The scandal led to the resignation of the department's top official, the firing of several senior officials and drew the close scrutiny of Congress. Donald Trump is releasing a plan aimed at improving veterans' health care. The Republican presidential contender is previewing his policy paper at a campaign appearance in front of the battleship USS Wisconsin in Norfolk, Virginia. Trump says he wants all veterans eligible for care from the Department of Veterans Affairs to be able to receive treatment from any doctor or facility that accepts Medicare. He says that will help to improve wait times and care and eliminate waste. He also wants to give new incentives for companies to hire veterans and provide new assistance to help veterans adjust to civilian life. Trump has also released policy papers on immigration, the Second Amendment and tax reform. He's sometimes been criticized for failing to provide specifics on his plans.