WE ARE ALL VETERANS: will the same dismal outlook overtake our military veterans in the VA system as it did the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder victims at Madigan General Hospital (see our blog from Sunday, February 26, 2012)?
The latest ringing quote from President Obama, "I will not stand for it!" is vaguely reminiscent of other outstanding verbalizations from the president, e.g, when he said that "I will not let any bureaucrat stand in the way of the care that you need," then stalwartly pushed ahead with the IPAB (Independent Payment Advisory Board) woven deftly into the ACA (Affordable Care Act) in Section 10320 (see our previous posts on this issue wherein we tell how the IPAB is designed to limit access to care without pesky Congressional oversight).
The latest medical scandal concerns the Veterans Administration (VA). On the rack at the moment is former General Ric Shinseki. The issue is to what extent the VA may have cooked the appointment books such that 40 veteran patient-deaths are attributable to delayed medical care at the Phoenix VA.
Speaking out in evident ire, President Obama said "it is dishonorable ... it is disgraceful." As a result 26 VA facilities are now under investigation. While Shinseki promises to get to the bottom of the matter, the press noticed he wasn't standing next to President Obama during the president's press conference (speculation is the General was in a roadside foxhole as would be any sensible soldier while a hostile straffing mission worked the skies above).
"If there is misconduct it will be punished," the president declared, ringingly adding, "I will not stand for it!" Meanwhile, Ron Nabors will supervise review of the VA and the expected IG Report which will tell us what's to be done and whether or not Shinseki still has a job. Obama, meanwhile, declares "we all know it takes too long for veterans to get care" while simultaneously inserting commens that the problem was also true for previous administrations regardless of party lineage. Trouble is these remarks come from the same source that first promised that no bureaucrat would interfere with the care we need, then said that we could keep our doctors, and finally for strike three that we could keep our current insurance if that's what we wanted to do.
"What we don't want is people making ... decisions based on money instead of care of the troops!" So said Representative Norman Dicks, D-Belfair. The issue then was lifetime benefits for soldiers diagnosed with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). 14 soldiers with this diagnosis were reportedly costing the government from $400,000 to $1.5 million in lifetime benefits. To save this money, a forensic psychiatry team changed the diagnosis. President Obama needs to apply the same language he used re the Veterans Administration, in short, it's time to ask if bureaucrats in the Madigan decision "cooked the books."
This writer was never satisfied with the explanations put forward at the time. Neither are we satisfied with the way in which the VA situation is being investigated -- it looks like Gen. Shinseki is being prepared and prepped to take a fall. The immediate reasonable solution is to assign more physicians to each of the 26 VA facilities now under review. This adjustment should start in Phoenix. The Madigan situation should also be reviewed with possible restoration of benefits that remain denied.
The overriding issue is whether or not the entire country is being prepared for reduced access to care, what Philip Klein referred to as "access shock." The issue is to what extent "choice" will be sacrificed by the ordinary citizen so that insurance companies can enhance profits by reducing costs by such methods as simply offering less in terms of physician access and access to diagnostic and treatment facilities. It's called scrimping and skimming.
Now we find out that scrimping and skimming in the Veterans Administration may have led to the death of former troops just as it is expected that the IPAB portion of the ACA will lead to derelict care, diminished levels of treatment, and even to the death of patients mired in a bureucracy of healthcare mandates that has been a disappointment from rollout despite constant revisions.
"I will not stand for it," he said? No, WE will not stand for it, or better not, lest we hoist ourselves on the same rope we used to strangle PTSD care at Madigan and VA care everywhere. We are all veterans of unwise decisions that have converted medicine into a succession of programs beneficial mostly to insurance companies and like-minded corporate interests.
The time has come for all of us to shout "I will not stand for it!"
Disclaimer
The writer is an Army veteran, Captain, USAMC (U.S. Army Medical Corps), and admits to bias on the part of the veterans.
References
The Weinmann Report (www.politicsofhealthcare.com, 2/26/12
"Head of Madigan removed from command amidst PTSD probe," Seattle Times, 2/20/12, by Hal Bernton
"Army insists doctors at Madigan aren't discouraged from diagnosing PTSD," The News Tribune, 2/10/12, by Adam Ashtone
"Rationing comes home to roost in the form of denial of care," www.politicsofhealthcare.com, 2/17/12, and www.workcompcentral.com, 2/24/12
"President Obama's oblique references to healthcare," www.politicsofhealthcare.com, 2/27/12
"President Obama apologizes and promises to interfere with care you don't need," www.politicsofhealthcare.com, 11/08/13
"Obamacare insurer says Americans have to break the 'choice' habit," www.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2548386, 5/13/14
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