Obama Proposes $125 billion for VA Budget to Meet Expanded Goals for Veterans

White House Seeks $125 Billion for Veterans in 2011

Homelessness, Claims Increases and Access - Priorities for VA Budget



WASHINGTON - To expand health care to a record-number of Veterans,
reduce the number of homeless Veterans and process a dramatically
increased number of new disability compensation claims, the White House
has announced a proposed $125 billion budget next year for the
Department of Veterans Affairs.



"Our budget proposal provides the resources necessary to continue our
aggressive pursuit of President Obama's two over-arching goals for
Veterans," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. "First,
the requested budget will help transform VA into a 21st century
organization.  And second, it will ensure that we approach Veterans'
care as a lifetime initiative, from the day they take their oaths until
the day they are laid to rest."



The $125 billion budget request, which has to be approved by Congress,
includes $60.3 billion for discretionary spending (mostly health care)
and $64.7 billion in mandatory funding (mostly for disability
compensation and pensions).



"VA's 2011 budget request covers many areas but focuses on three central
issues that are of critical importance to our Veterans - easier access
to benefits and services, faster disability claims decisions, and ending
the downward spiral that results in Veterans' homelessness," Shinseki
said.



Reducing Claims Backlog

The president's budget proposal includes an increase of $460 million and
more than 4,000 additional claims processors for Veterans benefits.
This is a 27 percent funding increase over the 2010 level.



The 1,014,000 claims received in 2009 were a 75 percent increase over
the 579,000 received in 2000.  Shinseki said the Department expects a 30
percent increase in claims - to 1,319,000 - in 2011 from 2009 levels.



One reason for the increase is VA's expansion of the number of Agent
Orange-related illnesses that automatically qualify for disability
benefits.  Veterans exposed to the Agent Orange herbicides during the
Vietnam War are likely to file additional claims that will have a
substantial impact upon the processing system for benefits, the
secretary said.



"We project significantly increased claims inventories in the near term
while we make fundamental improvements to the way we process disability
compensation claims," Shinseki said.



Long-term reduction of the inventory will come from additional manpower,
improved business practices, plus an infusion of $145 million in the
proposed budget for development of a paperless claims processing system,
which plays a significant role in the transformation of VA.



Automating the GI Bill

The budget proposal includes $44 million to complete by December 2010 an
automated system for processing applications for the new Post-9/11 GI
Bill.  VA also plans to start development next year of electronic
systems to process claims from other VA-administered educational
programs.



The Post-9/11 GI Bill authorizes the most extensive educational
assistance opportunity since the passage of the original GI Bill in
1944.  Over $1.7 billion in regular Post-9/11 GI Bill benefit payments
have been issued since the implementation of the program on Aug. 1,
2009.  In 2011, VA expects the number of all education claims to grow by
32 percent over 2009, going from 1.7 million to 2.25 million.



"To meet this increasing workload and process education claims in a
timely manner, VA has established a comprehensive strategy to develop
industry-standard technologies to modernize the delivery of these
important educational benefits," Shinseki said.



Eliminating Homelessness

The budget proposal includes $4.2 billion in 2011 to reduce and help
prevent homelessness among Veterans.  That breaks down into $3.4 billion
for core medical services and $799 million for specific homeless
programs and expanded medical care, which includes $294 million for
expanded homeless initiatives.  This increased investment for expanded
homeless services is consistent with the VA secretary's established goal
of ultimately eliminating homelessness among Veterans.



On a typical night, about 131,000 Veterans are homeless.  They represent
every war and generation, from the "Greatest Generation" to the latest
generation of Veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.  To date, VA
operates the largest system of homeless treatment and assistance
programs in the nation.



Targeting Mental Health, Preventing Suicides

"The 2011 budget proposal continues the department's keen focus on
improving the quality, access and value of mental health care provided
to Veterans," Shinseki said.



The spending request seeks $5.2 billion for mental health, an increase
of $410 million (or 8.5 percent) over current spending, enabling
expansion of inpatient, residential and outpatient mental health
services, with emphasis on making mental health services part of primary
care and specialty care.



The secretary noted that one-fifth of the patients seen last year in
VA's health care facilities had a mental health diagnosis, and that the
department has added more than 6,000 new mental health professionals
since 2005, bringing to 19,000 the number of employees dedicated to
mental health care.



The budget request will enable the department to continue expanding its
programs for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain
injury (TBI), along with the diagnosis and treatment of depression,
substance abuse and other mental health problems.  Shinseki called PSTD
treatment "central to VA's mission."



The proposed spending will continue VA's suicide prevention program.
Since July 2007, the department's suicide prevention hotline has
received nearly 225,000 calls from Veterans, active-duty personnel and
family members.  The hotline is credited with saving the lives of nearly
7,000 people.



Reaching Rural Veterans

For 2011, VA is seeking $250 million to strengthen access to health care
for 3.2 million Veterans enrolled in VA's medical system who live in
rural areas.  Rural outreach includes expanded use of home-based primary
care and mental health.



A key portion of rural outreach - which shows promise for use with
Veterans across the country - is VA's innovative "telehealth" program.
It links patients and health care providers by telephones and includes
telephone-based data transmission, enabling daily monitoring of patients
with chronic problems.



The budget provides an increase of $42 million for VA's home telehealth
program.  The effort already cares for 35,000 patients and is the
largest program of its kind in the world.



Serving Women Veterans

The 2011 budget provides $217.6 million to meet the gender-specific
health care needs of women Veterans, an increase of $18.6 million (or
9.4 percent) over the 2010 level.  Enhanced primary care for women
Veterans remains one of the Department's top priorities.  The number of
women Veterans is growing rapidly and women are increasingly using VA
for their health care.



Shinseki said the expansion of health care programs for women Veterans
will lead to higher quality care, increased coordination of care,
enhanced privacy and dignity, and a greater sense of security among
women patients.



Among the initiatives for women in the 2011 budget proposal are expanded
health care services in Vet Centers, increased training for health care
providers to advance their knowledge and understanding of women's health
issues, and implementing a peer call center and social networking site
for women combat Veterans.  This call center will be open 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week.



Delivering World-Class Health Care

During 2011, VA expects to treat 6.1 million patients, who will account
for more than 800,000 hospitalizations and 83 million outpatient visits.




The total includes 439,000 Veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan,
for whom $2.6 billion is included in the budget proposal.  That's an
increase of $597 million - or 30 percent - from the current budget.



The proposed budget for health care includes:



*        $6.8 billion for long-term care, an increase of $859 million
(or 14 percent) over 2010.  This amount includes $1.5 billion for
non-institutional long-term care;

*        Expanding access to VA health care system for more than 99,000
Veterans who were previously denied care because of their incomes;

*        $590 million for medical and prosthetic research; and

*        Continuing development of a "virtual lifetime electronic
record," a digital health record that will accompany Veterans throughout
their lives.



VA is requesting $54.3 billion in advance appropriations for 2012 for
health care, an increase of $2.8 billion over the 2011 enacted amount.
Planned initiatives in 2012 include better leveraging acquisitions and
contracting, enhancing the use of referral agreements, strengthening
VA's relationship with the Defense Department, and expanding the use of
medical technology.



Preserving National Shrines

"VA remains steadfastly committed to providing access to a dignified and
respectful burial for Veterans choosing to be buried in a VA national
cemetery," Shinseki said. "This promise requires that we maintain
national cemeteries as shrines dedicated to the memory of those who
served this nation in uniform."



The requested $251 million for cemetery operations and maintenance will
support more than 114,000 interments in 2011, a 3.8 percent increase
over 2010.  In 2011, the department will maintain 8,441 acres with 3.1
million gravesites.  The budget request includes $37 million to clean
and realign an estimated 668,000 headstones and repair 100,000 sunken
graves.



Building for the Future

$1.15 billion requested for major construction for 2011 includes funding
for medical facilities in New Orleans; Denver; Palo Alto, Calif.;
Alameda, Calif.; and Omaha, Neb.  Also budgeted for 2011 are major
expansions and improvements to the national cemeteries in Indiantown
Gap, Pa.; Los Angeles; and Tahoma, Wash., and new burial access policies
that will provide a burial option to an additional 500,000 Veterans and
enhance service in urban areas.



A requested budget of $468 million for minor construction in 2011 would
fund a wide variety of improvements at VA facilities.