Clinton spearheading effort to stop closing of VA hospitals

Associated Press ^ | 11-11-03 | SUZANNE GAMBOA

[Oldeconomybuyer]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- New York Sen. Hillary Clinton is leading an effort to stop the Department of Veterans Affairs from closing underused and outdated hospitals, including one in her state.

Clinton and a group of both other Democratic and Republican senators want to slow down a VA plan to shift the agency's health care focus to outpatient facilities and shutter seven hospitals, including one in Canandaigua, N.Y.

[Quilla]

I wonder what part of "underused or outdated" the Senator misunderstands.

[Lucky2]

osama bin murray and hildabeast clinton are two outdated blowhards that need to SHUT UP AND DISAPPEAR!

[Oldeconomybuyer]

She clearly understands "underused and outdated".

She also understands this is Veteran's Day and the junior Senator from New York needs ink.

[kabar]

Nothing new here. Representatives trying to retain jobs for their constituents. The commission on base closings was established to get such decisions out of the political arena. Maybe there should be a special commission on the closing of VA hospitals.

[Quilla]

Clearly! ;-)

[joesnuffy]

a few years ago these sorry excuses for human beings (let alone Americans) wanted to turn the "underused" VA hosptials into shared hosptials with street people with AIDS and familes without insurance aka Hitlery Care...

[1Old Pro]

I heard you could close the VA hospitals and give all veterans a premium Blue cross - blue shield health plan and save millions.

[ntnychik]

It's a huge issue in the Finger Lakes area. The Canandaigua VA is a major employer of citizens from many cities and towns, and the loss of jobs coupled with loss of service to veterans doesn't help the local perception of the Bush administration. The VA complex does appear to be underused. There is a process underway to assess the care options for the local veterans, and to creatively and cost-effectively use the unneeded space at the VA. Anyone who thinks a suitable solution for the local vets is to be bussed to Buffalo or Syracuse for their day programs (which was the assumption), needs to get off what they're smoking and brush up on their map skills. I would hope that our state elected officials would put this matter under serious review. I'm just sorry those officials are Hillary and Chuckie.

[InvisibleChurch]

it's odd how xxxillary and all the others running for president say they support the troops (but not the war or the president) haven't gone overseas to visit and support the troops

[Voteamerica]

Why should veterans get special life long care at all? If they were wounded we should treat that injury for the rest of their life, but giving each of them medical inusrance smacks of socialized medicine. These facilities should be closed, it is just another government handout.

[Dubya]

Hope they will restore my VA benifits that President Bush took away this Jan.,2003.
SEMPER FI
DUB

[waRNmother.armyboots]

What VA benefits did President Bush take away in Jan 2003?

[waRNmother.armyboots]

"Why should veterans get special life long care at all?"

Ahhh....that is the question. Many say that they were promised it, but it cannot be found in any information given to them. Why should a "veteran" who injured his knee jumping off the "wall" in basic training his fourth week in the military receive care at a veterans' hospital for the rest of his life?

Veterans are like many Americans, they say no to handouts until it comes to one for themselves. Just as "The Greatest Generation" thinks that they are deserving of the handout of prescription medications being paid for by taxpayers. When it comes to pulling their own weight or hobbling the taxpayer with debt they have no problem about whining about how much they "deserve".

[waRNmother.armyboots]

You don't need to keep an entire hospital open to provide day programs to veterans. How about an outpatient facility?As to the jobs lost....I thought that most people on FR were against government handouts and jobs programs. A job for the sake of a job and not one that was really needed provided at government (say taxpayer) expense. If this was a for profit civilian hospital would be still be open? Not looking at the revenue, but at the occupancy rate? If the answer is that it would be closed then it needs to go.

[LizardQueen]

I heard you could close the VA hospitals and give all veterans a premium Blue cross - blue shield health plan and save millions

I always wondered why they didn't do something like this. I've heard nasty stories about the standard of care in some VA hospitals too. Seems like privatizing it and using some sort of "voucher" system would be a good, not a bad, thing.

LQ, who admittedly doesn't know much about how the whole VA thing works.

[ntnychik]

I support the review and would accept the results. If a public review process had occurred before the announcement of this "decision" landed on this area like a bomb, a political issue needn't have been handed to Hillary on a silver platter.

[Dubya]

Too much to post here. Its on the VA and Presidents web site I guess. If a vet was not already using VA benifits he can not use them after Jan., 2003 unless he does not work and is homeless.
It would be better to call the VA or get it on their web site. The VA phone num in TEXAS is 1-800-827-1000 I believe.
I have never used any VA benifits at all.
I served my country just as well as the homeless and jobless.
I did go to school on my Texas VA benifits. Texas will roll out the red carpet for vets who want to come here to live. Don't count on the Feds.
They are very good at giving theirdselves raises in wages though.

[DonQ]

Funny thing. When the VA started on a program to close and phase out VA hospitals, about four years ago, on the basis that it was inefficient and uneconomical to maintain hospitals specifically for veterans, Bill Clinton was President. The reasons for closing the VA hospitals were the same then as now, but four years ago there was plenty of abuse aimed at Bill Clinton supposedly for permitting the hospitals to be closed, and now there's abuse aimed at Hillary Clinton for opposing the closings.

[Susannah]

My son served in the last Iraq war. He lives and works in northern California. He went to a VA Clinic doctor about a month ago. There was no nearby Vets Hospital, but the VA doctor did a CT scan and found his pain to be related to his inflamed appendix....the doctor called for an ambulance to take him to a private hospital to have his appendix removed and the VA covered the cost.

I don't know much about the Vets hospitals, but my son received excellent treatment at the private hospital he was sent to.