VA expands veterans’ access to outside medical care, in effort to clear long waits

Fox News ^ | May 25, 2014 | (With AP)

[Olog-hai]

The Obama administration said Saturday it will allow more veterans to get health care outside Veterans Affairs facilities, following recent revelations about long waits for treatment and purported secret lists that hid backlogs. […]

Democratic and Republican lawmakers have pressed for the policy change as the VA confronts the allegations about employees falsifying appointment records to cover up delays in care and about veterans dying while awaiting treatment at VA centers. …

[donozark]

Placing a band-aid on a traumatic amputation will not stop the bleeding...

[MHGinTN]

This is so surreal that I can only contrast it to the reality that these same liberal bilgespittlists will scream bloody hell if a female seeking an abortion is made to wait a few weeks for her scheduled murdering. Waiting a few weeks would give the alive unborn a chance at living after a C-section, but no, these dead soul leftists want that murdering immediately! And they get it!!

[uncommonsense]

A friend of mine, originally from the UK, changed his IT consulting to a recruiting company for surgeons to send to the UK. They had a 57,000 case backlog on hip replacements! They were setting up assembly line facilities to operate 24 x 7 until they caught up.

Take that number for just hip replacements, think how small the UK is vs the USA - and you'll get an idea of how bad the care of our elderly will be in a few years.

As ObaMao said "maybe it's just better to take the pill".

[Vermont Lt]

I have often wondered why someone with regular insurance would go to the VA Hospital? Its a serious question.

Can someone explain it to me, so that I can understand.

I come from a family of Vets with war related disabilities. They would go to the VA Hospital for their combat related injuries, but would never go for other issues.

I understand it is a Veterans Benefit, but the VA has never been known (at least in my area of the country) as the most timely and best care providers.

[Nifster]

Should have been done decades ago

[RaceBannon]

I have now been waiting 3 weeks for a normal check up for my blood pressure, and I have 3 more weeks to wait until the set date for that appointment

[smoothsailing]

The option of eligibility for private sector care should always be available to veterans, not just when politicians see it as a way to deflect criticism of socialized programs.

Since by admitting that the private sector can best solve their current problems, why not just make it permanent?

[blueunicorn6]

It may be necessary, but it should only be temporary. I recall a net call on the radio for all of us Lieutenants to come to a meeting with the Squadron Executive Officer and that “You’d better have your asbestos underwear on”. That man could really yell. We’ve lost that in America......the good old ass chewing. We all sit around and politely watch as people politely die. We ‘re all nice and polite as can be while nothing gets done. I’m not advocating yelling over every minor incident. But believe me, they should be making these VA executives so uncomfortable that they quit. We need to fix the people running the VA, not bypass them and let them get away with this shoddy behavior.

[kagnew]

Yes, I agree whole heartily that our VETS treatment is horrible and something definite needs to be done, however, I have a real problem with sending them to a private doctor while this administration is in power. My rationale for this is what happens when a vet goes to a private doctor and all of a sudden the VA says that the treatment that was done was not necessary and the Vet gets stuck for the bill. I'm basing my fears on that fact that Obama has said in the past (Rush mentioned this on last Friday's show) that he (Obama) believed that the Vets who were wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan should pay for their own medical treatment. Long story short, I don't trust this administration worth a hoot.

[DPMD]

In other words, if you don’t like Shinseki-care, there’s always obama-care.

[smoothsailing]

You’re right. For such a policy to work it would have to be unconditional and irreversible barring an act of Congress.

[Mike Darancette]

So all you have to do is wait for an appointment to get an examination to get authorization for outside care. Sounds about right.