Yikes! I really wonder what kind of reaction these decisions will bring. Do less veteran use the VHA for care because they don’t want the VA to have access to their medical records without special permission? Will that continue to reduce the number of providers who work at the VHA? I always looked at the VA as a place for veterans to participate in their health, but now I wonder if the veteran will hide from health instead.

@Jim Taormina I feel like you are starting in a great place, with your personal experience. I took the pills myself for a long time and they kept stacking up until one day I was like I am 35 years old and taking 13-15 different pills a day and feeling like shit. I started seeing a naturopath and am no longer on those pharmaceutical meds, anytime I mention this at primary care, they always dismiss it as a hoax or unusable. They don’t study root cause medicine only symptom based treatments. Also, most or majority of the elected officials really have no idea what they are doing, they tend to lean towards the side of number crunching and getting more for less. They will get more veterans on meds, reduce symptoms, and have to pay out less as a result.

So far this year, I’ve gotten up at 6am each morning and before doing much else, I got out of the house and walked an hour. I’ve actually started this effort in 2025 Dec and carried it through. I’ve not only lost 12 pounds of weight, I am feeling the blood flow and it’s feeling great.