The Department Of Veterans Affairs has announced that they’re going to expand community care for veterans who are eligible for dental services from the VA (story HERE).

When I read the headline my heart was lifted from a moment. And then it sank again when I read further.

The key word here is “eligible”. And the truth is that more than three out of four veterans are not eligible for care from the VA.

So, what are we doing here?

Because dental care is one of the most pressing needs for veterans behind housing and suicide prevention help. The VA has been neglecting it for decades because its expensive.

I’ve personally dealt with dental problems over the past several years, and I can tell you that it can ruin you financially, and if you ignore it, it seriously deteriorates your quality of life. You can’t function without feeling that ache in your mouth. Something as enjoyable as eating becomes an exercise in pain.

Instead of expanding dental care for eligible veterans, the VA needs to be expanding dental care for all veterans.

The obvious question is where is the money going to come from? That is a fair question.

But many lawmakers out there understand that there is still a lot of fat in that federal budget. And it doesn’t have to happen all at once. This can be done in phases.

The solutions are there. We just have to have the desire to look for them.

While advances in care for veterans is always a good thing. This measure doesn’t address the need the way it should.