• Welcome to the Internet Infidels Discussion Board.

We finally get a real scandal

 
 
 
Wait... the sky actually is falling?

The VA issue is very frustrating because the VA has been a joke for a couple decades, if not longer. It was crap under W as well. We don't know if it has improved at all since Obama took over, but if the allegations are true, this is an absolute kick to the groin for servicemen that need medical care.
 
Here's an article from The Atlantic asking the question Who Broke the Department of Veterans Affairs?

They trace it all the way back to Kennedy.

As far as Obama goes the article notes that he made many promises to Vets about fixing this issue but has made it worse by making it easier for veterans to collect benefits from things like PTSD. It's going to take acts of Congress to really fix this but we're currently living in a period of legislative history worse than the do-nothing congress so good luck with getting anything meaningful through them.
 
Consider it an example of what US UHC could look like, blending the "best" of the VA and Medicaid into one giant blob. Maybe they could only use GM ambulances (with safety waivers included for free)...
 
Unfortunately, this issue fuels more of the right-wing fire to fight Obamacare, claiming that more of this will become widespread across hospital systems outside of the VA. I agree with Jimmy, it's been a problem for a while now.
 
ksen said:
We have a real scandal affecting veterans and it's a pretty shitty tactic to use this to argue against UHC thus diverting attention away from getting this problem fixed.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I wasn't trying to argue against UHC (I actually don't know what the right solutions are within the US political environment). I'll just stop there to avoid further derailing your thread...on the VA mess.
 
funinspace said:
ksen said:
We have a real scandal affecting veterans and it's a pretty shitty tactic to use this to argue against UHC thus diverting attention away from getting this problem fixed.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I wasn't trying to argue against UHC (I actually don't know what the right solutions are within the US political environment). I'll just stop there to avoid further derailing your thread...on the VA mess.
Click to expand...

It's my fault. I'm sorry for jumping down your throat. I'm a veteran and I know veterans so this issue hits a little close to home.

But you know the usual suspects will be along shortly to use this against UHC for realsies any minute now. ;)
 
Reason doesn't come into any of this: it's bureaucracy! And the problem goes back to the dawn of civilization.
No aggressive nation ever knows what to do with its old broken soldiers: there's no gain or profit in them; they're a drain and an embarrassment to a government that needs fresh new soldiers it can't really afford.
So they relegate veterans to an agency that's only slightly less efficient than the army, and it screws up, and the government sweeps its mistakes under that same giant rug with the war crimes and illegal appropriations, mislaid funds and wasted materiel.
 
Don't forget, we are a very small voting block so I think the general procedure is: lip service, a modicum of change in the interim, slowly and quietly slip back to the status quo. They just have to hold out long enough for the general public to move on to something more entertaining. I'm guessing sometime next week oughta do it.
I was hoping it would be better here in OH than in CA. Nope. They just move the bottleneck (that one appointment in the line of appointments that you wait six weeks for).
I have to laugh.

Let me say, the care I've received has been good once they finally do call your number, and there are a lot of good people working for the VA, so it's not all evil. Just the folks who are trying to save money by making veterans give up on the whole process or sadly, die trying.
Or I'll cry.
 
Celldweller said:
Unfortunately, this issue fuels more of the right-wing fire to fight Obamacare, claiming that more of this will become widespread across hospital systems outside of the VA. I agree with Jimmy, it's been a problem for a while now.
Click to expand...

This isn't a threat from Obamacare but it would spread if we went to a UHC system.
 
Jimmy Higgins said:
Is there any reason soldiers can't be put onto Medicare?
Click to expand...

I like this idea. But then I think everyone should be on Medicare.

Both my brothers are veterans and use VA for most of their health care. Never heard them complain much about it.
 
I am a veteran and have a service connected condition, ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease.

I have been happy with the VA. I get my ALS drugs, they are a category 4 drug and I would have to pay about 400 dollars a month in copays for them if I got them through my wife's insurance company. I also get speech therapy and some other help from them. I do however, get most of my care through the Emory ALS clinic which is funded jointly by the MDA, I am one of Jerry's kids, and the ALS association, started by Lou Gehrig's wife.

The VA provides good care once you are in the system. It is the most cost efficient medical care provided in the US, it is just swamped with the number of vets who need care with the boomers ageing and the number of wounded and disabled veterans from our latest adventures in bayonet diplomacy. They need more money to treat more veterans. It is as simple as that.
 
The U.S. Veterans should have the same health card as the U.S. Congressmen. Close the V.A. Hospitals and let the veterans be able to get better service.
 
This says nothing about the practicality of UHC. Many other countries around the world have acceptable UHC. Some people cannot, within the core of the system, get the immediate response they desire... But as a result of paying this opportunity cost, healthcare becomes available and accessible to a huge portion of the population.

It can be done. It just is t being done here because problems of beaurocracy have been left to fester.
 
aeebee50 said:
The U.S. Veterans should have the same health card as the U.S. Congressmen. Close the V.A. Hospitals and let the veterans be able to get better service.
Click to expand...

lol, I see what you did there.
 
ZiprHead said:
Jimmy Higgins said:
Is there any reason soldiers can't be put onto Medicare?
Click to expand...

I like this idea. But then I think everyone should be on Medicare.

Both my brothers are veterans and use VA for most of their health care. Never heard them complain much about it.
Click to expand...
My dad just went the VA route, instead of having private insurance. It took a while for him to get into the system, but he did get in.
 
A large % of veterans are poor underemployed or employed in places that would have no health coverage if not for Obamacare. So in the small government ideal world of conservatives and pseudo-libertarians most of those getting sub-par service now would be dying in the streets and getting no service at all.

Much of the problem is severe underfunding because war-mongers want to hide the true cost of conflict. They don't want to just put vets under Medicare because that will legitimize Medicare even more and make it harder for them to cut its funding. The Bush wars produced over 1 million vets that have already sought treatment at VA facilities. Obama increased VA funding by about 35 billion (40%) over his first 5 years from 2008 to 2012, which is much more than the $22 billion increase under Bush over the 5 years from the start of the war in 2003 until the end of his presidency. Compounding the problem is the lack of funding within the military for proper care for active troops. This increase hasn't been enough because Obama very correctly, morally, and scientifically expanded treatment for PTSD and other mental-health issues for vets, meaning more people needing to be served by the same $. Obama has tried to increase the VA funding much more than he already did but has been has been blocked by Congress.
 
Last edited:
Jimmy Higgins said:
Is there any reason soldiers can't be put onto Medicare?
Click to expand...
Yes, there is. Wounded and ailing ex service members require a very specialized care. All medical personnel working in VA hospitals have been trained into a sensitivity based program addressing the unique needs of their patients. Medicare would only redirect those folks to general medicine and if specialized medicine, there is no guarantee that an orthopedist would be sensitive to the reality of dealing with a patient necessitating an amputation resulting from a combat wound. Physical therapists working for the VA are well trained to handle a majority of patients necessitating long term rehab for the use of prosthetic devices. It is quite specialized too.

Let alone the psychological profile of War Veterans. That is usually not part of what a regular doctor in medicine will be trained for. One of my ex RNs, specialized in wound care, transferred to the VA. She had to undergo several new CEUs (Continuous Education Units) to be able to be effective in caring for combat related wounded patients. Let alone, "cultural sensitivity" units.

The one issue which needs immediate attention is not enough social workers. As usual, under staffing and too many cases in the case load given to each social worker.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom