Improving long term care for our nations Veterans Research Paper

Improving long term care for our nations Veterans - Research Paper Example This essay discusses that healthcare for military personnel, including veterans and active duty members spans a wide range of programs under the control and management of the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veteran Affairs. TRICARE is the primary health care program for active duty soldiers and veterans, including their families. This program covers three health coverage plans: the TRICARE Prime, TRICARE Extra, and the TRICARE Standard or CHAMPUS. The differences in these three plans mostly are in the eligibility, providers, and out-of-pocket costs. TRICARE for Life (TFL) covers Medicare-eligible military retirees and their family as well as their survivors. And in instances when both Medicare and RFL apply, Medicare takes precedence over TFL coverage. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) covers and delivers health care to the veterans as well as their families. It also manages the largest integrated health system which covers millions of inpatients and outpatie nts veterans based on a wide network of hospitals and interworking systems of clinics, rehabilitation programs, residential programs, and nursing homes (Kaiser). The veterans are usually assigned to eight levels of prioritization, based on their service-connected injuries, income, and on other similar factors. Based on these considerations, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs often determines if the budget for veteran healthcare is adequate to meet the needs of the veterans requiring care. (Kaiser). The VA is available to all veterans, especially those who are uninsured and who have low incomes (Military Handbooks, p. 4). Despite its availability, about 1.8