The Department of Veterans Affairs is a dysfunctional mess that needs to be fixed.

That was the loud and clear message from veterans that gathered at an American Legion town hall at the USS Alabama in Mobile Monday night to discuss healthcare. Vets had come from Mississippi, Florida and Alabama to lament against the embattled agency that they feel has let them down badly.



"I fought against the Vietcong, but now I find that the biggest enemy in my life is the VA," said Rodney Keener, 69, a Vietnam War veteran, to applause and agreement from the veterans around him. "It feels to me like they just hope you get sick and go away."

American Legion town hall members discuss VA healthcare issues.

The legion's town hall comes amid bitter debate around the country over how lawmakers will continue fixes to the VA's healthcare that started under President Obama. While a number of ideas have been put forward, including privatizing VA healthcare and allowing veterans to visit a medical provider of their choice, there has been little progress. Furthermore, recent studies have shown that veterans are against radical policy changes, but instead want to see the current VA fixed.



The depth of the problems faced by the VA were first exposed in April 2014 when it was discovered that 40 veterans had died while waiting for care at an Arizona clinic. The deaths prompted criminal investigations and forced then-VA secretary Eric Shinseki to accept blame and resign.

In the aftermath of the near 15 -year conflict in the Middle East, request for care among veterans has increased by 200 percent, placing greater strain on the entire system. At the same time, the agency's budget has only increased by 16 percent, according to VA records.

While the U.S. Senate pumped $500 million into the VA in the wake of the wait time scandal, and has increased the agency's budget year-on-year, there has been little meaningful change to the experiences of many veterans.

Richard Rydin, 68, a Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War, said during the town hall that he suffered from stroke-like symptoms one day and went straight to the emergency room, as is directed by VA when veterans need emergency care. "The VA are supposed to pick up the bill," explained the veteran, who is 70 percent disabled and a Purple Heart recipient. "They refused to pay the bill because the condition was not service related. I don't have a lot of money to pay for this."

William "Greg" Akers addresses veterans during a Mobile town hall on VA healthcare.

But merely directing more funds into the agency is not the only answer, according to Matt Gaff, American Legion District 33 Commander and convener of the town hall. "Money is not the issue here, the VA needs to be held accountable for the funds they receive and need to use them in a smart manner."

Most of the complaints from veterans in attendance were regarding the VA's clinic in Mobile. One veteran said that he showed up to an appointment only to discover it had been cancelled weeks before. A number of veterans complained that they could never get anyone to pick up the phone at the clinic, while others said that staff seemed disinterested in helping them. Some complained that doctors weren't following up on their issues and didn't renew prescriptions unless reminded.

A new VA clinic in Mobile could be operational by summer 2018 and is expected to increase services for the 65,000 veterans living in South Alabama. The VA signed a $40 million lease on 45,000 Sq.ft property just off Rangeline Road. The lease was formally signed in August 2016 and will end the VA's affiliation with the University of South Alabama, the site of the current clinic. The new facility will offer several services to veterans, including primary care, mental health, and women's health.

Despite being invited, no VA representatives from the region's main headquarters in Biloxi, Mississippi, appeared. "It's deeply disappointing that the VA hasn't bothered to show up," said Donna K. Stacey, Senior Vice Commander of the Alabama American Legion. "We are to meet with them tomorrow in Biloxi but it would have been a great gesture for them to meet with veterans face to face. A media representative from the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System said she was unaware of why Director and CEO Anthony L. Dawson or any other representative was unable to attend the town hall.



Rep. Bradley Byrne was unable to attend as he was in Washington D.C. voting at the time of the town hall, according to his spokesperson.

While not in attendance, Rep. Byrne has been at the forefront of attempted changes to the VA. The south Alabama politician introduced a bill in mid-February that calls for vets to be able to seek medical care from "private doctors, specialists, and hospitals in their local community," according to the wording of the bill, known as the Veteran's Choice Program, or H.R. 1032.

However, according to a Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) report released just days ago, only one percent of vets believe that introducing such a service would be beneficial, while 92 percent would prefer to see the current VA fixed. The study received responses from over 11,000 veterans across the country.

Despite general disinterest among veterans for his bill, Byrne still believes some vets could benefit from it.

"Congressman Byrne continues to hear widespread support from local veterans for his efforts to increase veteran access to private medical care," said an email from Rep. Byrne's spokesperson Tuesday. "The VA system is clearly failing our veterans, and Congressman Byrne believes veterans should instead be able to seek care from doctors, hospitals, and specialists in their local community, instead of being forced to drive hundreds of miles out of the way to a VA facility. This is especially critical in more rural parts of our district like Washington and Clarke counties."

Five percent of veterans polled in the report called for the VA to be completely dismantled, while a further two percent had ideas that the VFW did not categorize in the report. The study also found that 41 percent of respondents noticed an improvement at their local VA facility, while 38 percent said that improvements were needed. Seventeen percent said that no improvements were needed.

Appointment wait times of less than seven days are up from 2015 to 2016, as are 8-14 days and 15-30 days. However, those waiting between 31-60 days, 61-90 days and more than 90 days have gone down, according to the study.

"Veterans told the VFW that they want to fix, not dismantle the VA health care system," according to conclusions of the study. "For that reason, the VFW will continue to debunk and reject radical policy proposals, which would reverse the progress VA has made by privatizing the VA health care system or erode the veterancentric care VA is obligated to provide."