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There are so many veterans with serious injuries from Iraq and Afghanistan whose only choice is the VA. They are not eligible for Medicare or Medicaid, do not have jobs with healthcare, so they rely on the VA. A young veterans was on the news, who had lost both legs, and explained he was lucky because he had a job with healthcare. If he went to the VA they only saw patients missing limbs one day a month. Really? When Obama was a senator, he brought up the problems with the VA, when he was running for President, he brought them up again and insisted he would fix them...2nd Term...More interested in campaigning, having sports teams visit the WH and sending money to other countries than caring about those that gave so much.
This recent scandal about the VA is nothing new. It seems to pop up every decade or so. The politicians and bureaucrats will shout and point fingers to make their political points, pass new rules & regulations to 'fix' the problem, then move on once the issue has left the front page. But sadly, very little will change and at some point down the road, a new VA scandal will surface again. It's happened over and over in the past.
I've never understood what the problem is with providing health care to our veterans, and doing it in a timely fashion. Why does it have to be 'rationed'? Is there not enough money, or doctors/facilities, to many federal regs/red tape, bureaucratic incompetence..... or a combination of all of those? The fact that veterans have to wait weeks or months for appointments for medical care is a total disgrace, and we as a country are to blame because we continue to allow this to happen.
I am a combat veteran of Vietnam, and was fortunate enough not to require medical services from the VA. I was very lucky in that regard. But IMO, anyone who sacrifices body parts and good health in general while serving this country deserves to, at the very least, have ALL their medical & rehab needs met & paid for... in a timely manner.... for the rest of their lives. We owe them nothing less.
Why did the Vets themselves keep this so quiet for so long?
They haven't. Don't you remember when there was all kinds of yelling about how terrible the VA hospital was during the first Gulf War ... and how Bush would visit VA hospitals at during his administration and they would say they showed him special areas because other parts of the same hospital were disgraceful? Obama promised to improve the VA hospitals and to many accounts his administration DID clean up the hospitals so vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan were getting their wound treatments properly and in good conditions. Many head injury treatments of VA hospitals, for instance, are on the cutting edge.
It seems to me that the types of problems they're having now are of the same ilk as those suffered by public schools. The top execs are putting corporate standards on public bureaucracies. Administrators are being given demands to fulfill that their systems are not able to live up to. Their paychecks, even the continued existence of their jobs, are tied to the fulfillment of unrealistic expectations. Unfortunately, many of these administrators, rather than fight the system, simply lie or create false reports to cover up the inadequacy of what they are able to accomplish. The VA system is no different than school administrators falsifying test records when they couldn't meet the demands of No Child Left Behind, the Bush Administration program that saddled schools with demands for results when they lacked the funding to produce those results.
One big reason the VA is so crowded is because older people are often very unwilling to switch their healthcare circumstances even when they should. Why do vets on Medicare put up with substandard care at the VA just because they're used to going there? They have options, but they don't use them. The VA system isn't staffed for the number of young vets who now need serious treatment thanks to two decades of U.S. adventures in the Middle East. And heaven forbid our do-nothing Congress should FUND the VA to meet the needs. It's Congress that funds the VA, not the president.
When you vote, look at your candidates' records of supporting the VA system. Some of the people who wave the flag most enthusiastically vote NO on everything and anything that will help vets. The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), for example, give Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham (who never met a war action they don't like) grades of D on their supportfor the needs of returning vets. Meanwhile, those radical lib Senators Barbara Boxer and Chuck Schumer get As. The grades are based on how they VOTED, not what they say. IAVA - Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
The organization Disabled American Veterans (DAV) sent its legislative director to Congress to testify regarding this current controversy. Following is a link to the testimony he presented on May 15, 2014, behalf of his group if you are interested in what they think. http://www.veterans.senate.gov/imo/m...2005.15.15.pdf
As I read through this qa couple of thoughts come to mind...
I see no reason why those of Medicare age don't bail out. Seems rational and Tricare and/or Medicare seem to offer better options. So I would expect few older vets trapped in all this.
The present problem of cheating on input admissions appears to be a problem but not really the big problem. People are cheating because they cannot win if they don't. The real problem is a substantial shortage of primary physicians. And that problem is caused by money. It appears that money problem has been with us for decades. It also sounds like there is a bureaucratic layer in there that is too large and over paid.
So how about an admission problem which says get them in in a week or give them a medical card good anywhere. What will of course happen is various folk will profiteer on that segment. So after you get it going you have to figure out how to keep it honest. And give the VA the ability to recover their patients say every other year...a recapture if VA is ready. Then you can use the recapture against any one gaming the system.
The thing may also need new and better triage. Maybe the concentration should be on those who have no where else. Wounded combat veterans get priority. Is that rational? Are they actually the sickest? I know the combat wounded are a special class...but perhaps better served in military or civilian hospitals not associated with the VA if you wish them to catch the best service.
Just another example of how the government doesn't do anything well. I wonder how many people don't know what agenda 21 is. More big government slowly being implemented. Sheeeeeple.
Just another example of how the government doesn't do anything well. I wonder how many people don't know what agenda 21 is. More big government slowly being implemented. Sheeeeeple.
It is actually a great example of how the government and its politicians refuse to deliver the taxes and revenue needed to support what is promised to a group of people. And compounded by the rationally absurd wars of the last 40 years. Stqrt absurd adventures and then refuse to pay the costs encountered.
As I read through this qa couple of thoughts come to mind...
I see no reason why those of Medicare age don't bail out. Seems rational and Tricare and/or Medicare seem to offer better options. So I would expect few older vets trapped in all this.
The present problem of cheating on input admissions appears to be a problem but not really the big problem. People are cheating because they cannot win if they don't. The real problem is a substantial shortage of primary physicians. And that problem is caused by money. It appears that money problem has been with us for decades. It also sounds like there is a bureaucratic layer in there that is too large and over paid.
So how about an admission problem which says get them in in a week or give them a medical card good anywhere. What will of course happen is various folk will profiteer on that segment. So after you get it going you have to figure out how to keep it honest. And give the VA the ability to recover their patients say every other year...a recapture if VA is ready. Then you can use the recapture against any one gaming the system.
The thing may also need new and better triage. Maybe the concentration should be on those who have no where else. Wounded combat veterans get priority. Is that rational? Are they actually the sickest? I know the combat wounded are a special class...but perhaps better served in military or civilian hospitals not associated with the VA if you wish them to catch the best service.
I think some feel that if they don't go to the VA, they will lose their benefits/disability rating.
Or maybe they go hoping that something will show up that will increase their rating?
Welcome to the world of socialized medicine; and does anyone out there still deny that "single payer" --- the darling of the same people who bring us the "climate change" hype -- will force the same gridlock on all of us?
Me, and I'm not sure about your planet, but on mine I'm living GW everyday. I'm not sure why or how to stop it, but it is happening.
My family member said they just do the minimum in Long Beach, CA. He got motivated to get Medical/Covering CA and doesn't go back to VA because of poor service. La Jolla is supposed to be pretty good?
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