Shame on the Veterans Administration and the United States Government. Veterans who are seeking medical treatment from the Veterans Administration are receiving substandard care, that care does not meet the standard set by the American Medical Association. The standard of care offered by the VA is killing Veterans. The VA is practicing a standard of care that was last practiced in 1950.
Example: if you go for a colonoscopy the standard of care as performed by the American Medical Association is that the procedure includes a mild sedative, not so with the VA, currently at the VA, if you receive a colonoscopy it is not performed with the benefit of a sedative, that’s to save the money that an anesthesiologist would have cost.
This is what needs to be done:
1). Immediately provide any veteran a voucher that has a procedure scheduled more than 30 days out, Allow that Veteran to go to a modern doctor/hospital then allow that doctor/hospital to redeem that voucher for the currently accepted rate paid by health insurance carriers for that procedure. That will reduce the back log and get people treated before they drop dead.
2). Raise the standards at each VA hospital to meet the current standard of care as defined by the American Medical Association. Bring the VA hospital level of care to the Twenty First Century.
3). The United States needs to get out of the business of war. Stop producing Veterans and this problem goes away. Each Veteran made an agreement with Uncle Sam, the Veteran promised to do whatever Uncle Sam asked including giving up their life. In return Uncle Sam promised to take care of us if we were injured. I up held my end of the deal and it seems to me and a lot of other Vets that Uncle Sam is coming up short on his end, and not just a little short. We want real health care, state of the art, the same that the President of the United States receives and have him, get his next check up via the local VA and see how quick the system improves.
