Many good points, like this:
In other words, they may have died while waiting for an appointment rather than because they were waiting for an appointment. Yet the “Forty vets died waiting for VA care” meme continues to show up over and over again in stories about the VA, as if it provides the context readers need to understand what’s wrong with the VA and why so many people want to privatize it. It’s a great example of a fact that is literally true but essentially misleading without more context—that is, as good as a lie.
ETA
If Maddow had more direct contact with the world of veterans affairs, she might have asked who, exactly, Rieckhoff speaks for. IAVA’s website claims 425,000 members, but membership merely entails a mouse click; no dues are required, nor proof of veteran status. The organization’s funding, meanwhile, comes from “partners” who include major corporations that stand to gain directly from VA privatization. These notably include TriWest Health Care Alliance, which contributed more than $500,000 to the organization in 2012—not long before becoming a major beneficiary of legislation that forced the VA to outsource more care to the private sector.
The article provides a good case that a lot of the anti -VA is promoted by privatizing VA advocates.
I also found it very interesting how the VA has been somewhat hamstrung in highlighting its accomplishments, and how now its communications people are basically dedicated to smearing their own department.
Bayer’s CEO may have just qualified for entry into the same Corporate Hall of Fame that Cheney did.
As Halliburton’s CEO Cheney bought a major asbestos company right before that company lost the lawsuits against them for knowing their product caused cancer - but ignoring the evidence in favor of profit.
If they want such a big role in an administration let them go through the vetting process of senatorial advise and consent like every other cabinet official.
I wonder what any of these guys would think about outside spectators setting policy in their institutions or practice or making suggestions about how they could do things better. Does the doctor think he is qualified because he is a doctor or because he is a vet? Somehow I imagine they all think that veterans should be getting the same quality of medical care they get because they are all rich guys with oodles of money and they don’t get what the big deal is. I am guessing their hearts are in the right place, right next to the top of their heads which are completely up their asses.
There is no problem so complex that rich white guys can’t solve it over a round of golf and a couple of imported beers.
I’m not a vet but am a big supporter of VoteVets - especially after seeing its founder, Iraqi veteran John Solz interviewed. I never considered them (or saw them labeled) as a “liberal” group either. They are smart, vocal, active, effective lobbyists for sane policies. (Their strong pressure against Trump’s proposed military parade may have contributed to its cancellation.)
A). You didn’t “learn all of this in 8th grade civic class”, you learned basic civics and then added to that all your life, as it should be. You learned what civics WAS and that you needed to learn about it all the time. As a FACT of record, civics classes (that exist) today are FAR more in depth and the internet allows for a FAR better insight and understanding than when we were young.
B). Civics classes are still taught in most states, fewer states than it was, sure, but it’s still taught.
C). It’s not the responsibility of the state OR the schools to teach ‘civics’, it’s up to parents, just like it’s up to PARENTS to teach ‘morals’, how to balance a checkbook and literally everything else. We as parents band together to form authorities called governments and through these authorities we build schools and hire people to HELP us teach our children.
The RESPONSIBILITY of raising and TEACHING those kids are STILL THE PARENTS. We seem to have forgotten that.
We have three seriously engaged children, now in their 20’s. They aren’t engaged and educated politically (civics) because a teacher taught them, they educated and engaged because of US. The Parkland teens aren’t as smart and effective politically as they are because of their teachers (though I’m sure they helped), it’s because they have ENGAGED PARENTS!
Our problem isn’t stupid kids, it’s stupid parents that believe that all they need to do is drop their kids off every day at school and that takes care of 100% of their educations…
In 1987 I had brain surgery, went in via the nose so needed an ENT. Saw the ENT just once after the operation while still in the hospital. I never saw any billing.
In 2017 I had to have the same surgery once again (actually twice within 72 hours). Went via the nose again so another ENT. This time the ENT never stopped by while I was in the hospital but setup 3 monthly appointments for follow-up checks. I saw that billing and boy was it a whopper. The ENT charged the VA for each visit that lasted less than 5 minutes over $300 per.
Same operation, same level of care before and after by the Neurosurgeon. Hospital stay was actually shorter the 2nd time as I never was transferred out of the ICU but sent home less than 24 hours after the op. Difference was that the ENT wanted a whole lot more money…
This is VA privatization and as @cgantt57 states only setup to cost the VA more while padding the doctor’s pocket. Well some of the doctors for sure. That is your and mine tax dollars at work. Advice speak long and loud to your Members of Congress and stop the insanity. The VA works, despite what some may try to tell you.
PS: The Neurosurgeon fees for the 1987 and 2017 operations did not change one penny.
If the government spent half of what they spend on outside medical doctors and services on hiring more VA doctors and medical staff the VA would be in much better shape than it is right now. The AMA and insurance industries are drooling over the prospect of privatizing the VA.
So true… They should also spend to open more hospitals. For me it is a choice to drive to Nashville (3 hours) or Johnson City (2 1/2 hours). That is why I chose to have the operations at UT, less than 1/2 hour from my home and also allowed my daughter to visit daily. There has been talk about building in Knoxville but so far it is just let us outsource more and more services.
Example: they used to do bone density at the Knoxville VA Clinic but stopped and it is now outsourced. Don’t know what the clinic charges were but is took less than an hour to checkin, have the procedure and checkout. Outsourcing takes at least an hour just to get checked in with 90% of that the hospital double checking that they will get paid. The procedure then takes about 15 minutes, but once again I must checkout taking another 1/2 hour and once again just to make sure they can bill properly. *Outsourcing as far as I am concerned is just a money grab, it has squat to do with quality of care. Then you got the case where even with all the double/triple checking on billing the hospital still manages to bill incorrectly. Last time it cost me over $350 out of pocket and they never once responded to my inquires about correcting the billing.
Sounds familiar. I was sent out to a local hospital for an MRI. Even though the VA sent me over and it was made clear it was a VA referral the hospital still billed me directly twice trying to get my payment as well as the VA’s. I hope all is cool with your these days and in to the future.
