Re: Hey Massachusetts! Coakley or Brown?
Here are my VA stories just from the past seven days.
I got a call from my provider on Friday seeking to set me up with a pre-colonoscopy appointment for this week. I let them know that I would be in the area near the medical center on Thursday, so that would work out perfectly. They agreed, and everything's hunky-dory, right?
Monday I get an automated call from the VA reminding me of my appointment on Wednesday (which is today). Yeah, imagine my shock. I spend two days trying to reach the gastroentrology clinic to rectify the problem. First, the number on the VAMC's website for gastroentrology connected me with an answering machine at hematology/oncology. Oops. Second, the appointment system (automated) only allows you to find out when your appointment is or cancel it, not move it. Pushing "0" for an operator led to a phone that rang forever with no one picking it up and no answering machine. Finally, the extension number that I managed to find for gastroentrology from another source took me directly to that same automated appointment system.
Fortunately, I got a second call yesterday afternoon, this time from the people at gastroentrology, reminding me that I had an appointment for Wednesday. I had the chance to explain that I would not be around on Wednesday and fortunately the time I'd agreed to for Thursday was still available. So it got fixed after two days of trying to fix it.
That's not all. Yesterday I also received a survey in the mail asking me questions about my "recent visit to the VA facility listed below." It listed East Orange, NJ medical clinic, 19 November 2009." I've never been to East Orange, NJ, let alone their VA clinic, and was nowhere near the VA system in general on that date.
And mind you, these stories are only from the past week. It took me over six months after my return from my tour of duty just to be seen for a possibly service-related medical condition.
Hey, great story! Sounds like a success story that I think all Americans would love to be involved with, don't you?
I think I'll go with Olbermann's opinion on Brown, especially after hearing him try to get his daughter's married last night.
That comment led you to believe he encourages violence against women and Democrats now, did it? lol Get real - you wouldn't even be commenting on this if it were in the middle of a concession speech instead of a victory speech.
I don't care if it was funny or not. And reports show that at least one of the daughters was not amused.
It wasn't appropriate.
But I'll meet you halfway here. My take on the whole thing was his blond daughter is dating someone he doesn't approve of, and is sending a between the lines message to her on national TV. Kinda below the belt to tell his daughter to "dump that guy" in a veiled manner in front of however many millions. Anyway, that was the impression I got from his words, her body language, and then him backing off and offering a fist bump as an apology - but with my nuance skill set, I'm probably way off base, haha....
At any rate - much like using a cigar as a prop while cheating on the First Lady, it's a private family affair, none of my business. It has nothing to do with the nation's issues.
I take care of folks covered by the VA. They get good care and more importantly they get their meds and visits. In my area there is no such thing as not waiting. We have no open primary docs so everyone waits, the practices are overloaded, the ERs are too. Many of my patients can not afford the most basic meds. I totally disagree that the meds prescribed by the VA are suboptimal. Just because they are generic (mostly) does not mean they do not work. Can't think of a person I have seen that I would prescribe something different than what they were on to begin with. Their chronic care is in many cases superior to what my working class population can afford and they would snap up a chance to take your place.
You take care of folks covered by the VA, you say.... in other words, they still need to seek crusaders like yourself out in the private sector despite that great VA coverage you speak of? Les... don't play dumb on me here.
If the "public option for veterans" system, the VA, was such a success - or even if it were slightly inferior to - then it would be the poster child of Obamacare. The fact that Reid and Pelosi aren't highlighting the small-scale socialized health care system is because it sucks. This is not a topic of debate for VA patients or people in the health care field, whether it be those in the VA system itself or your coworkers that you eat lunch with in the private sector. You know it yourself, but your ideology and/or political party affiliations won't let you admit it publically. (Which is harming the patients you provide care for, by the way. I give you props for admitting you are close-minded and don't give a sh** what opponents of Obama say - but morally and ethically speaking, perhaps it's time you ought to listen to opposing view points and start thinking for yourself. Think with logic, not with emotion.)
Don't tell me the quality of VA health care is in any way comparable to the private sector. Don't tell me the waiting list in the private sector is anywhere close to what the VA's waiting list is. Don't complain about the ER traffic in Mass, that exploded once the state socialized the industry. The ER traffic is fine 40 miles north of Boston. Don't try and tell me the VA gives access to the latest and greatest meds as a normal practice, they don't. Don't try and tell me people would love to have access to the VA system - anyone that's experienced both would disagree with you, any you know that. Everyone in the health care industry, VA or your lunchmates in the private sector, would disagree with you and you know that.
You know the bottom line is that the government run VA health care system is inferior in every aspect to the private sector - I know you know that, everyone does. And it has less than 1% of the load that the private sector does, and it has no impetus to operate within the bounds of fiscal responsibility.
If you ever watched the news in the past 5 or 6 years and saw a segment about the VA health care system, you'd agree with me that the report is always focusing on just how lousy government-run health care is.
Defending the quality of the VA health care system is the same as calling the Titanic unsinkable.... 90 minutes after she struck the iceberg.
The sick and dangerous thing is, Congress and that clown in the White House are trying increase the scope of their lousy socialized health care system by a factor of over 100.... to a country that doesn't even want it.
, but again, ANYONE would have won under the D heading running in 08 (why, even marcia coakley
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