Boise VAMC Psychiatrist describes the value of VA care: Laboring in the Shadow of the Media: Care and Perceptions of Care in the VA

President Obama responds to the Commission on Care report, rejects recommendation to change VA's governance structure. Read the response here.

VA Secretary McDonald responds to the Commission on Care report. Read the response here.

VoteVets.Org launches ad campaign against privatizing VA. View their ad on YouTube.

The American Prospect: Studies Show Veterans Health Care Improving

VA Press Release: The Joint Commission Releases Results of VA Health Care Surveys to VA

Policy Brief re Commission on Care Final Report: Major Recommendation Ignores Data, Risks Veterans’ Healthcare from the following organizations: Association of VA Psychologist Leaders, Association of VA Social Workers, Nurses Organization of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs Physician Assistant Association, American Federation of Government Employees, National Federation of Federal Employees, National Nurses United, National Association of Government Employees, American Psychological Association, National Association of Social Workers.

AFGE Calls the Commission on Care Report "Horrendous" and "Anti-Veteran"

Commission on Care Commissioner Michael Blecker's Dissent

Final report from the Commission on Care

Forbes article: Proposed Board For A Privatized VA Would Push Vets Out In The Cold

Senator Rockefeller Advocates Against Privatizing VA

National President of AFGE: No, the VA is not broken.

VHA Under Secretary for Health: Why VA Care Is Different

Veterans Service Organizations Express Their Views on Privatizing Veterans' Health Care

Joint VSO Letter Opposing Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers' Legislation

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA): IAVA Members Want a Better VA, Not a Privatized VA

Joint VSO Letter Regarding the Choice Program

Joint VSO Letter Opposing the Privatization of VA

American Legion: Legion Fights Efforts to Privatize VA Care

Paralyzed Veterans of America: Why Privatizing VA Healthcare Would be a Huge Mistake

DAV Addresses the Issue of Downsizing VA: View their video here on their Facebook page.

VA Mental Health Care Better Than Private Sector

A recently published article in Psychiatric Services reports that the medication treatment received by veterans in VHA is better than that received by patients in the private sector. Read the article here.

Comparison of VA and Non-VA Health Care Quality

AVAPL has reviewed the literature on the quality of VA health care as compared to private and non-VA public sector health care. In the majority of studies, VA health care is as good as or better than health care from other systems. Read the review here.

VA Medical Innovations and Discoveries: Summary Fact Sheet compiled by the Association of VA Psychologist Leaders

Custodians of Veteran Health Care

San Francisco-based not-for-profit organization befitting veterans, Swords to Plowshares, has distributed an article advocating against the privatizing of VA health care services. Read the article here. This article was written by Michael Blecker, Executive Director of Swords to Plowshares and a member of the Commission on Care, and he gave permission to distribute the article.

Washington Monthly: The VA Isn't Broken Yet

In this article, the Washington Monthly documents the rise of the Commission on Care and the push toward privatizing VA. Read the article here.

AVAPL Presents to the VA Commission on Care

Members of the AVAPL Exexcutive Committee and the AVAPL Advisory Committee presented their views on the advantages of VA-provided care for Veterans at a meeting of the VA Commission on Care on January 21, 2016. View the slides from their presentation here.

AVAPL, Association of VA Social Workers, American Psychological Association, and National Association of Social Workers Jointly Address Proposed Efforts to Expand VA Choice Program

Many veterans wait unacceptably long times for appointments in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). The Veterans Access, Choice, Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 Choice Card Program was enacted as a three-year solution to address access problems for selected veterans. One year into that pilot, there are concerted Congressional efforts to expand the Choice Program, and make it permanent. There are no additional appropriations in the Choice Card Program expansion bills; funding for expanding the Choice Card Program would come by siphoning allocations from VHA Medical Centers & Community Based Outpatient Clinics -- downsizing the number of VHA providers and programs. The effect over time would be to dismantle the VHA system and privatize care for veterans. The proposed expansion of Choice is predicated on popular myths, which are critiqued here.

Poll Shows Veterans Support VA Health Care, Oppose Privatization

A new poll commissioned by the Vet Voice Foundation suggests that veterans oppose attempts to privatize VA health care services. Read the report here.

Title 38 for Psychologists

Title 38 White Paper

Click here to view the Title 38 White Paper, developed by the AVAPL Executive Committee.