ProPublica: “The behemoth agency, which traces its roots to the Civil War, is both the country’s largest healthcare system and one of its most effective. It provides 9 million veterans what is essentially socialized medicine, often for free, under the cover of the American flag. The doctors, nurses and other staff are employed by the government.”“Despite the occasional scandal and persistent short-staffing, studies have shown that the VA — where the doctors coordinate with one another and have deep expertise on veterans’ needs — has better outcomes than private care.”“But in his second term, Trump has moved aggressively to upend this system, embracing a decades-long conservative campaign to effectively kneecap the VA’s government-run healthcare and shift veterans toward private doctors and hospitals.”