We already have a system for that called the VA. Their track record over the last ten years in providing care is pretty abysmal. I am not confident your suggestion would result in a different outcome but I’m open to ideas.
Then we continued to underfund the VA.
It’s only logical that it’s where it is.
Some of us foretold this from before the wars.
I agree that certain jobs do not have to be done by the government and in that way, doing them via government gives rise to all sorts of bad incentives and inefficiencies, but I would not want to paint anything run by government employees as cost inefficient (especially if it's a core government competency) compared to the private sector alternative without some clear evidence.
The comment was directed at the VA, there's no reason it needs to be run by government personnel for the most part. A few could be on hand to handle classified matters if necessary. People hired by the government are not necessarily the best subject matter experts, as the rigid pay structure doesn't allow offering to pay what they're worth - and more often, to pay less, as many job classifications are simply salaried too high. Maybe strictly in matters of government policy could an expert find their niche, and I'd agree be a core government competency. Most other government agencies I can think of would be better off contracted out to enact the laws set by the President and Congress, with the flexibilty of private employment pracitices.
If you're speaking from personal experience I'm interested what happened.
My point is not that interacting with folks at the VA is bad (generally folks try to do their best) but that at a certain point if a single organization runs a specific function incentives get turned around to the point where you lose the ball somehow, and there's no pressure to improve. This seems to have happened to a certain extent at the VA and I see the pattern happen a lot across large institutions, generally. ESPECIALLY if they are not in a competitive environment.