rationing of healthcare?

The new fiscal year did not get off to a happy start Thursday for veterans groups as Congress failed for the 20th time in the past 23 years to pass a Veterans Affairs Department budget on time.

Click to expand...

Reickhoff said the only solace — and it doesn’t mean much — is that VA is not alone. Congress passed only one of the 13 regular annual appropriations bills needed to run federal agencies.

Click to expand...

Delays in permanent appropriations hurt veterans because hospitals and clinics — unsure of how long temporary funding might last — fall back on rationing care, according to Reickhoff.

Click to expand...

On time three out of 23 years. That's a hell of a track record. In my opinion this doesn't bode well for their ability manage healthcare for the whole of the United States. Too much in fighting?


http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/10/military_va_nobudget_100109w/

There are currently eight million veterans enrolled in the VA health care delivery system, with nearly six million patients dependent on timely access to quality health care. There are also many ongoing medical and prosthetics research programs that depend on annual federal funding. Historically, VA administrators have often found themselves delaying maintenance projects, implementing hiring freezes, and postponing equipment and supply purchases in order to maintain medical services for American veterans and their families.

Click to expand...

http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfoct09/nf100209-4.htm

I think it's quite telling and sad that regardless of who holds office, congress can't agree on healthcare for vets. They're not doing their job. Most people get fired for that.

Considering the HUGE scandal this past year about the VA losing or physically shredding veteran's claims and paperwork, I'd say other countries should look elsewhere for leadership in working with electronic records.

Oh and my SO is a combat medic. He was trained in house (and in country honestly). I've never heard of the VA training military medics, that would be odd considering in field medicine is different than hospital medicine. I'd love to know if they actually do this.

LaceWing said:

Ah, re the training: what I'm recalling is an odd article on VA doctors doing breast implants. The justification was that they were getting on the job training. You're right; not the same as medics.

An Iraq vet friend of mine was caught up in trying to make VA claims for a couple of years. Didn't a general get fried over that? What's the latest on whether things have improved on the claims side of paper work?

Click to expand...

The VA is currently backlogged on not only their medical claims, but they are also backlogged on GI Bill claims.

Last week's Monday Morning Workload Report for August 24, 2009 shows an increase from 936,690 claims in the pile to 948,611

Click to expand...

http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfaug09/nf083109-1.htm

Vets can expect at the minimum a 2 year wait for their first denial. They then have about six months to refile (from what I've read, I'd have to look). Some have waited over 10 years (I can dig that up too) and often times, the older vets die before their claim goes through.

Now they can still get medical care during the time their claim is going through, but they have to pay a certain amount. The VA is not "free" for all veterans. It depends on the vet's rating and tier level. The system is flawed on an epic scale. It is an adversarial system when it should not be. Many vets eventually just give up (like mine did until I helped with the filing) or lawyer up.

It's a sad chapter in this nation's history. We have charged the VA with paying a debt we all owe and they aren't making good on it.

Oh and depending on the scale of the scandal, the VA moves it's employees instead of firing them. I'd have to look to see about a general losing his job. I read the VA Watchdog site every day and the news is staggering... and frustrating.

These plans on address PSTD are not terribly new and they are working for some. But, PTSD being what it is, I'm pessimistic especially after their unbelievable need to address Chris' other injuries while overlooking his PTSD. Hell, we have a sleep apnea machine in the closet that we told them he didn't want or need. Tried to give it back, because I know it's costing them since it's from a private office, but they said keep it.

He doesn't have sleep apnea. He has crushing nightmares.

The EDMR is an interesting technique, but it didn't work for Chris, nor did the huge bag of pills.

ColoradoGuy said:

Private healthcare would be great if it wasn't run by the insurance companies.

Click to expand...

And there in lies the sticky. We can't seem to find anyone who's willing to deal with the headaches without personal agendas to make sure everyone gets what they need.

GeorgeK said:

To play devil's advocate:
The VA has to first get money from the Fed who has their own budget problems and then (I'm not sure) might have to get it approved through the Pentagon which is another bottleneck.

Also to be fair from the standpoint of a retired Physician, Medicare and Medicaid were easier to deal with than the private companies whose meandering rules were so bizarre that they essentially require you to hire an extra person just to deal with and figure out their peculiarities.

Click to expand...

I don't think the DoD has anything to do with the VA. From my own experience, they keep vets and active military very separate.

My own personal issue with the VA - yes, they irritate me beyond my limits some days and others they're so helpful it's like dealing with Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde - is the fact that since they are a government institution they feel that whatever they do is fine. When they were called on cases taking 10 years their attitude is we'll get to it when we get to it. That's what I fear most for this country going to a system similar to this one.

While we examine other country's systems of healthcare, we really need to examine our VA system. Maybe mistakes could be avoided from the beginning instead of being covered up later.

http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfoct09/nf100109-1.htm

http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfjun09/nf062209-1.htm

I usually don't post links to VAWatchdog, I try to go right the linked source from their site, but there are so many news stories about mistakes and coverups and funding issues, it's hard to choose which are the most important.

MattW said:

On the VA backlog - I've dealt with similar paperwork issues in the past, and throwing bodies and overtime at it never fixes the problem. If you don't know why it takes so long to process, and no one is accountable for claims being processed, it only makes you look busy.

Again, government agencies deal with inefficiency by layering on more inefficiency but not looking at root causes. Treating symptoms, not the disease.

Click to expand...

But they didn't throw bodies or overtime at the backlog. They shredded claims and made them go away. Many veterans didn't understand how important it was to not send originals, so their claims are irretrievable. If you can't prove it in paperwork, you can't get benefits.