What do we want ? GOVT HEALTH CARE ... When do we want it ? ... NOW yeah right with oops like telling 1200 vets they have fatal disease and they don't

That was a human error with a computer. It could have happened at any Dr. Office and mistakes have been happening at Dr. offices for years. Doesn't have a darn thing to due with government insurance. It has to do with the hiring process of sorry people who aren't capable of their jobs.

Doctors misdiagnose and over-diagnose diseases/conditions everyday and you dont see that in the news. People make mistakes and alot times with the technology we have today its because someone typed in one letter/number wrong without noticing it. I'm not saying that telling all of the vets they have Lou Gehrig's is alright, but at least it was caught and they owned up to it instead of denying it.

Just kidding...sorry you spent all your life savings on that whirlwind vacation.

Everyone makes a mistake from time to time. However, the government makes more mistakes and bigger mistakes that affect large numbers of people. As a 60 year old person without health care, I would rather remain without than to have a government run health care system.

Margo....are u KIDDING me?!! Then you are blissfully naive and so far lucky. And as far as the goof goes....just be GRATEFUL that the ALS diagnosis isn't real.

This is no surprise. I got a letter from the VA last week stating a cancer screening test came back positive. I held it in my left hand, while I held the lab report that the screening was negative, in my right hand.

The people at the VA Clinic gave me the impression they knew their inaccurate letter could cause a bit of stress, but I'm not sure they knew how to get the contents of the letter changed.

Most government workers are overworked and underpaid. I work for the government and the incompetent workers usually don't leave. They are the ones that will proudly tell you that they have worked for the government for 35 years. Once they have passed there probation period it is hell to get rid of them. For this reason when you do business with a government agency, it takes forever. Yes......health care would be treated the same way as the IRS, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, DCF and all the other government offices that take forever to give you a straight answer. Big government does not work efficiently.

"That was a human error with a computer. It could have happened at any Dr. Office and mistakes have been happening at Dr. offices for years. Doesn't have a darn thing to due with government insurance. It has to do with the hiring process of sorry people who aren't capable of their jobs."

Has a lot to do with government insurance!!! Who did the hiring? The government?

I know mistakes happen but not many on this large of a scale unless done by our government. Maybe they wanted the vets to actually use their own death manuals and end the cost of their healthcare. What is happening in this country anyway? I don't want healthcare coverage that makes those kind of mistakes either. The government isn't able to handle their responsibility and WE can't handle the costs.

The governmen makes "more" mistakes if nothing else only because it's bigger. Take a doctor's office of 200 patients, times the number it would take to equalize the size of the VA, and the doctor's office mistake ratiio would be ?

The VA treats 1.5 million vets, 1200 'ooops', is a mistake factor of .08%. The same factor for a doctor w/200 patients would be 16 patients

Well, at least they weren't also told that their treatment wouldn't be covered as it's a pre-existing condition.

Forget HMO for-profit screwups! Long live government run, just-have-to-break-even screwups!

ooops H****!!!! Those are just the "mistakes that were posted. There are millions more and I have seen it first hand!!!!!!! How about one state with at least 6 known cases of severe PTSD and they will only diagnose these guys with "stressors" because they are/were "lowly mechanics"! Get off it. This is just another case of the government gone bad. Oh, how about if a veteran and his family gets to keep tricare for life instead of depending on other healthcare????? Yea, like that will ever happen!

ooops H****!!!! Those are just the "mistakes that were posted. There are millions more and I have seen it first hand!!!!!!! How about one state with at least 6 known cases of severe PTSD and they will only diagnose these guys with "stressors" because they are/were "lowly mechanics"! Get off it. This is just another case of the government gone bad. Oh, how about if a veteran and his family gets to keep tricare for life instead of depending on other healthcare????? Yea, like that will ever happen!

ooops H****!!!! Those are just the "mistakes that were posted. There are millions more and I have seen it first hand!!!!!!! How about one state with at least 6 known cases of severe PTSD and they will only diagnose these guys with "stressors" because they are/were "lowly mechanics"! Get off it. This is just another case of the government gone bad. Oh, how about if a veteran and his family gets to keep tricare for life instead of depending on other healthcare????? Yea, like that will ever happen!

ooops H****!!!! Those are just the "mistakes that were posted. There are millions more and I have seen it first hand!!!!!!! How about one state with at least 6 known cases of severe PTSD and they will only diagnose these guys with "stressors" because they are/were "lowly mechanics"! Get off it. This is just another case of the government gone bad. Oh, how about if a veteran and his family gets to keep tricare for life instead of depending on other healthcare????? Yea, like that will ever happen!

Really ken? its not .08 its .0008 so actually out of 200 its less then 1 person.

Why is this a surprize for anyone. The VA has been having issues for a very long time. One only has to rembember the condition of thier hospitals, the mold present in the rooms of the patients, and the lack of modern treatemnt equipment to get a real understanding of the condition of the present governement run health care programs.

The plan simple truth is that the governement simply can not run efficently, effectively, or achieve the monitary run rates needed to run this type of enterprise.

Really ken? its not .08 its .0008 so actually out of 200 its less then 1 person.

Really ken? its not .08 its .0008 so actually out of 200 its less then 1 person.

I am a 100%m disabled Veteran and am enrolled in the VA health Care system. Lets go over the benefits they have a suicide prevention hotline and rude nurses and personnel. Lets see just lately they have been refusing to give me the medicine that i was perscriped by twisting the dates and then shorting me an injection evrey month and then have the Adacity to ask why do you call the suicide prevention hotline. These people who make these decisions at the VA need to be put out to pasture with their out-dated, stubborn and idiocity and refusal to accept change in the 21st century. Its okay to go to a pain clinic, get injections of steroids, put on morphine, but dont ask for a massage, that would just feel good and get you out of pain. Then the accuse you of being a drug addict because the pharmacy is always looking for ways to cut back on veterans and now they want the public to endure what disabled veterans have to deal with. Good luck with that, public health care is just turning into a bunch of over-paid, understaffed, and underqualified people who refuse to give up their stubborn bush and cheney ways.

I am a 100%m disabled Veteran and am enrolled in the VA health Care system. Lets go over the benefits they have a suicide prevention hotline and rude nurses and personnel. Lets see just lately they have been refusing to give me the medicine that i was perscriped by twisting the dates and then shorting me an injection evrey month and then have the Adacity to ask why do you call the suicide prevention hotline. These people who make these decisions at the VA need to be put out to pasture with their out-dated, stubborn and idiocity and refusal to accept change in the 21st century. Its okay to go to a pain clinic, get injections of steroids, put on morphine, but dont ask for a massage, that would just feel good and get you out of pain. Then the accuse you of being a drug addict because the pharmacy is always looking for ways to cut back on veterans and now they want the public to endure what disabled veterans have to deal with. Good luck with that, public health care is just turning into a bunch of over-paid, understaffed, and underqualified people who refuse to give up their stubborn bush and cheney ways.

I am a 100%m disabled Veteran and am enrolled in the VA health Care system. Lets go over the benefits they have a suicide prevention hotline and rude nurses and personnel. Lets see just lately they have been refusing to give me the medicine that i was perscriped by twisting the dates and then shorting me an injection evrey month and then have the Adacity to ask why do you call the suicide prevention hotline. These people who make these decisions at the VA need to be put out to pasture with their out-dated, stubborn and idiocity and refusal to accept change in the 21st century. Its okay to go to a pain clinic, get injections of steroids, put on morphine, but dont ask for a massage, that would just feel good and get you out of pain. Then the accuse you of being a drug addict because the pharmacy is always looking for ways to cut back on veterans and now they want the public to endure what disabled veterans have to deal with. Good luck with that, public health care is just turning into a bunch of over-paid, understaffed, and underqualified people who refuse to give up their stubborn bush and cheney ways.

I am a 100%m disabled Veteran and am enrolled in the VA health Care system. Lets go over the benefits they have a suicide prevention hotline and rude nurses and personnel. Lets see just lately they have been refusing to give me the medicine that i was perscriped by twisting the dates and then shorting me an injection evrey month and then have the Adacity to ask why do you call the suicide prevention hotline. These people who make these decisions at the VA need to be put out to pasture with their out-dated, stubborn and idiocity and refusal to accept change in the 21st century. Its okay to go to a pain clinic, get injections of steroids, put on morphine, but dont ask for a massage, that would just feel good and get you out of pain. Then the accuse you of being a drug addict because the pharmacy is always looking for ways to cut back on veterans and now they want the public to endure what disabled veterans have to deal with. Good luck with that, public health care is just turning into a bunch of over-paid, understaffed, and underqualified people who refuse to give up their stubborn bush and cheney ways.

I am a 100%m disabled Veteran and am enrolled in the VA health Care system. Lets go over the benefits they have a suicide prevention hotline and rude nurses and personnel. Lets see just lately they have been refusing to give me the medicine that i was perscriped by twisting the dates and then shorting me an injection evrey month and then have the Adacity to ask why do you call the suicide prevention hotline. These people who make these decisions at the VA need to be put out to pasture with their out-dated, stubborn and idiocity and refusal to accept change in the 21st century. Its okay to go to a pain clinic, get injections of steroids, put on morphine, but dont ask for a massage, that would just feel good and get you out of pain. Then the accuse you of being a drug addict because the pharmacy is always looking for ways to cut back on veterans and now they want the public to endure what disabled veterans have to deal with. Good luck with that, public health care is just turning into a bunch of over-paid, understaffed, and underqualified people who refuse to give up their stubborn bush and cheney ways.

Really ken? its not .08 its .0008 so actually out of 200 its less then 1 person.

Most government workers are overworked and underpaid? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I don't work for the Federal Government but I know many who do and they are some of the worse slackers I know and get paid big bucks for being a bunch of sorry A**holes! They NEVER get fired for being slackers either! I no one who has been screwing up for years, got caught in 2002 (was screwing up before then only got caught) and is still working. Takes off work for weeks and up to a month at a time without leave and gets a slap on the risk. Rank - a 12! Says when it doesn't go in it doesn't get paid. I say YOU DON'T LOSE NOT ONE BENEFIT...insurance, YOUR JOB, for being a bad performer! I want to blame the incompetent BOSSES of this worker for not setting the example and letting IT go!
OK I am on a tagent right now...but this VA was a human error...it could have just been an error out of the norm, but it also could have been were there were no checks in place...

I am a 100%m disabled Veteran and am enrolled in the VA health Care system. Lets go over the benefits they have a suicide prevention hotline and rude nurses and personnel. Lets see just lately they have been refusing to give me the medicine that i was perscriped by twisting the dates and then shorting me an injection evrey month and then have the Adacity to ask why do you call the suicide prevention hotline. These people who make these decisions at the VA need to be put out to pasture with their out-dated, stubborn and idiocity and refusal to accept change in the 21st century. Its okay to go to a pain clinic, get injections of steroids, put on morphine, but dont ask for a massage, that would just feel good and get you out of pain. Then the accuse you of being a drug addict because the pharmacy is always looking for ways to cut back on veterans and now they want the public to endure what disabled veterans have to deal with. Good luck with that, public health care is just turning into a bunch of over-paid, understaffed, and underqualified people who refuse to give up their stubborn bush and cheney ways.

I am a 100%m disabled Veteran and am enrolled in the VA health Care system. Lets go over the benefits they have a suicide prevention hotline and rude nurses and personnel. Lets see just lately they have been refusing to give me the medicine that i was perscriped by twisting the dates and then shorting me an injection evrey month and then have the Adacity to ask why do you call the suicide prevention hotline. These people who make these decisions at the VA need to be put out to pasture with their out-dated, stubborn and idiocity and refusal to accept change in the 21st century. Its okay to go to a pain clinic, get injections of steroids, put on morphine, but dont ask for a massage, that would just feel good and get you out of pain. Then the accuse you of being a drug addict because the pharmacy is always looking for ways to cut back on veterans and now they want the public to endure what disabled veterans have to deal with. Good luck with that, public health care is just turning into a bunch of over-paid, understaffed, and underqualified people who refuse to give up their stubborn bush and cheney ways.

Most government workers are overworked and underpaid? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I don't work for the Federal Government but I know many who do and they are some of the worse slackers I know and get paid big bucks for being a bunch of sorry A**holes! They NEVER get fired for being slackers either! I no one who has been screwing up for years, got caught in 2002 (was screwing up before then only got caught) and is still working. Takes off work for weeks and up to a month at a time without leave and gets a slap on the risk. Rank - a 12! Says when it doesn't go in it doesn't get paid. I say YOU DON'T LOSE NOT ONE BENEFIT...insurance, YOUR JOB, for being a bad performer! I want to blame the incompetent BOSSES of this worker for not setting the example and letting IT go!
OK I am on a tagent right now...but this VA was a human error...it could have just been an error out of the norm, but it also could have been were there were no checks in place...

I am a 100%m disabled Veteran and am enrolled in the VA health Care system. Lets go over the benefits they have a suicide prevention hotline and rude nurses and personnel. Lets see just lately they have been refusing to give me the medicine that i was perscriped by twisting the dates and then shorting me an injection evrey month and then have the Adacity to ask why do you call the suicide prevention hotline. These people who make these decisions at the VA need to be put out to pasture with their out-dated, stubborn and idiocity and refusal to accept change in the 21st century. Its okay to go to a pain clinic, get injections of steroids, put on morphine, but dont ask for a massage, that would just feel good and get you out of pain. Then the accuse you of being a drug addict because the pharmacy is always looking for ways to cut back on veterans and now they want the public to endure what disabled veterans have to deal with. Good luck with that, public health care is just turning into a bunch of over-paid, understaffed, and underqualified people who refuse to give up their stubborn bush and cheney ways.

Aside from this terrible mistake do you really want the current government controlling health care. This same government who has/wants to give social security to those who haven't payed into the system. This same government who spends billons of dollars yearly overseas promoting the growth of other nations/countries while this one is in economic woes. This same government who in times past has allowed Congress to vote itself in hefty pay increases. I could go on but you get the point. I hope people don't have their head in the sands about government controlled health care! The least amount of control they have with this the better.

So the rabid opponents of health reform will seize upon this example of government inefficiency while blindly ignoring when private capitalist businesses also screw up. Just recently my e-pharmacy sent a letter to me, my spouse and thousands of others that our local pharmacy, part of a local chain, would not be allowed to fill/refill our prescriptions. This action caused a great deal of anxiety among numerous customers, many of these elderly.
I called my pharmacy and the upshot was that the LETTER WAS SENT OUT IN ERROR. This incompetent action was taken by a private business NOT THE GOVERNMENT!!!
When are all you dopes and dupes going to realize that our federal government IS NOT OUR ENEMY? Osama bin-Laden is! North Korea also. Not to forget China, Russia, Castro, etc.
Get real people.

I am one of the veterans from Florida who got that ALS letter. To this date I have got no reply from VA about making a mistake. I also have an approved claim that is 11.5 years old and still waiting. ITS the Veterans Administration. I wish the press would put more pressure on the VA to do better for Veterans.

The V.A. is in sad disarray. I've taken my brother, a gulf war vet, to 4 now across the country and they are all the same. Very rude, overworked, underpaid nurses and doctors just going thru the motions. They told my brother he had 6 months to live with end stage liver disease. 3 months later I took him to another V.A. in another state and they told him his liver function was normal and he was fine. He's never been better! I appreciate the hard work of the V.A. staff, but don't trust their diagnoses and prognoses any further than I can throw them.

The V.A. is in sad disarray. I've taken my brother, a gulf war vet, to 4 now across the country and they are all the same. Very rude, overworked, underpaid nurses and doctors just going thru the motions. They told my brother he had 6 months to live with end stage liver disease. 3 months later I took him to another V.A. in another state and they told him his liver function was normal and he was fine. He's never been better! I appreciate the hard work of the V.A. staff, but don't trust their diagnoses and prognoses any further than I can throw them.

Someone earlier in the thread mentioned the hiring the process, and, one must ask the following question regarding the recent error and that of the hiring processes previously used by the U.S. Govt. and the Veteran's Administration. That hiring process is as follows: For those of you who did not know, the U.S. Govt. and the Veteran's Administration have been outsourcing Veteran medical records to an offshore third company in India for years. Was this mistake the result of an offshore third party contract error or was it an error due to poor hiring practices and even poorer quality controls within the Veteran's Administration.

Regarding quality of life and quality control, where was the check and balance and management oversight that allowed letters of such content and magnitude to reach 1200 Veterans. Wouldn't one THINK that a number like that warranted further investigation into the cause (like what theatre were each of the 1200 Veterans in etc.) OMG he used the word THINK. Obama, he used the word think, he used the word think!!!!!!

My brother is 42, and they put him in a V.A. hospice in Marion, IN, to die of end stage liver disease with other "terminal" patients. I went to pick him up to live with us, he has been eating well, exercising, and now is fine. Huh, could he have just needed those basic things in his environment?

Had Sted, it's not just this example but all the numerous examples where our govenrment has screwed over the general populus. You need only pick up a paper, turn on the T.V. or go online to hear and read about it happening daily. No one's calling our government the enemy, just incompetent in some areas.

You remind me of a mule with blinders on. You can only see what's right in front of you and no vision of what's going on around you.

This country is still by far the greatest one to live in but it's slowly falling into precaurious ways. If the general populas doesn't open up it's eyes and start contacting their state representatives and voicing there concerns; as opposed to sticking their heads in the sand, then this country will digress into third world ways.

I feel sorry for our vets. They fought for us are still fighting, then they come home and
are treated like carbage. We should and must
honor our Vets and treat them the way they should be treated, with respect and dignity. Medical benefits for our Vets should never be an issue!

What is sad, is this MISTAKE does not mention the Veterans that DO suffer from ALS or all it's symptoms caused by something they were given to not get sick or were exposed to by the government to keep them safe!) Then the only option is the health care offered by the government to it's Veterans. My cousin is only 40 years old. His sone is high school. In less than 2 years, he has lost the ability to dress himself, drive, drink from a cup, and more! He did what was asked of him, he served his country! He is alive. Yes, he was lucky! He did not die at war, where we would never had gotten the chance to say good bye! BUT GOD help him, that what he endures now and the life that is being taken away from him daily is not a worse war to battle. Please no nasty replies toward me or my post. I mean no insult to anyone.

I am enrolled in VA health care and am a Service connected Disabled Veteran of the Korean War. I live in Boise Idaho and the health care here is as good as one could want. They take good care of us here and of course once in a while something is missed as all are human but the number of mistakes here are few and far between. The other VA hospital that is the same is White river Junction Vermont.
I have had far more mistakes in private medicine than the VA

Ladies and gentlemen if you believe in and support President Obama's nationalized healthcare plan one only has to look at the level and type of care our Veteran's receive for you to get a clear picture of how a nationalized healthcare plan will work for you and your loved ones.

Many Veteran's hospitals across the country have been closed down or staffing reduced, the level of care is marginal at best and in many cases substandard due in part to increased census(patients) and shortages of skilled health care professionals and support staff. Veteran healthcare in America is unacceptably poor and if you think a nationalized health care program is going to be any better you are either extremely naive or dillustional.

Our Veteran's deserve far better than this country has been willing to fiscally fund and support. Yet, Yet, they'll give BILLIONS of dollars to the unions and other worthless entities when our most valuable resource is and should remain that of the veterans who ensure our freedoms daily. Shame on America and "Shame on the President and both Houses of Congress.

the VA sucks plain and simple all those that say oh stop complaing probley dont have to use the va and if your famlie has tricare for life know that no doctores will take it my wife has to go over 100 miles to see a doc the same for my children i am 100% total and permenent disabled from the navy refusing to medavacing me 30 miles to a hosp on shore and cant work the docs at the VA have sugested i just get it over with and i would if i could find away that my famlie would be taken care of w/ me gone but if i die the amount of money i get from the VA would not be enough to suport them i would rather be dead than have to go to the VA

A mistake is when you tell one patient he/she has a disease and is misdiagnosed. A problem is when incompetent people manage your health care and things like this happen. Everyone that is excusing the VA are the same people that would be running to their attorneys office for the psychological damaged caused by this "mistake". Remember this can happen at any level, what if you are in the OR and some incompetent mis-coded your procedure and they removed the wrong limb, or removed the wrong organ. I know this happens in the private sector, but it is isolated. If it's goverment run health care, this could od been 1,200 new amputees, because of the wrong coding. Yes health care needs reform and oversight, but for the government to run it is a totally different thing. Reform Yes, take over NO.

I do know of someone that served in the gulf war and has lou gehrig's desease. Is this wired? This story really makes you think about it. Also the person lives in Alabama.

I will continue to be uninsured if the Government steps in and takes over. They can kiss my A** as far as I am concerned. I worked for 20 years, had privately paid for insurance (through my jobs) and was never without coverage. When I lost my job I was told that I could carry COBRA coverage...When I applied for that I was quoted a $900.00 per month premium....Yes, that was for a single person, HAHAHA what a joke, I was suddenly unemployed and they wanted more per month for insurance than I was actually clearing....I have age related arthritis (osteo) and have had a couple of surgeries over the years. I'm in my 40's. But that is robbery and I dropped my insurance for good....Have not been employed since and I will never pay to be insured again....whatever--I refuse to throw my earned money to the insurance companies fat cats so that they can sit up in their oppulent offices and come up with ways to deny coverage for normal everyday ailments that plague people as they age...As soon as I get rid of a few more assets I will refuse to pay an automobile insurance company to "insure" me in that field too. The only thing that "insurance" guarantees is that you will throw your money to them and they will bend you over and demand more from you while giving absolutely nothing in return....When the Government gets involved, you can be assured that things will only get worse....I will continue to fly under the radar and if the time comes I plan to become a burden to that self same Government and the so called insurance providers....

My father was told by three heart specialists not to have a hernia surgery. Ther V A did it anyway. Yes he died not from the surgery, from a heart attach brought on by the surgery.

kiss my ass I have not posted one comment on this thread, I'm sure you just didn't like what I had to say fuckers

I'm not surprised by this at all. I use the VA health system because my employer does not offer health insurance so I don't have any other choice. With the VA system you pretty much have to take what you get, rude employees, long hours waiting to see a doctor, employees making all kinds of mistakes, hospitals that look like you are in a 3rd world country. The worst part is, it takes an act of congress to fire any of those people since the majority of them are government employees.

VA horror stories abound. The staff is not always the best, the doctors not always the best. I went in to have my leg fixed - sustained an injury in Iraq- I left the hospital wondering what the heck i went in for. Instead of looking at my leg, they diagnosed me with congestive heart failure. The military doctor had already told them what he thought the problem with the leg was! Needless to say, the congestive heart failure was a misdiagnosis. 2 1/2 years later they finally did the MRI on my right leg - Surprise - I required surgery. I showed up for the surgery another surprise, they were about to perform the surgery on the wrong leg! My guess is that some VA hospitals exemplify the Peter principle - i.e. people reach their level of incompetence! And yes, the VA is a government owned and run Bureaucracy that serves as a shining example of what you can expect from a government run health care system! If they can't get diagnosis right what makes you think they can get the paperwork for an insurance program right?

This is not the only issue with the government health care system....
I keep hearing "You will have options." "You can CHOOSE your own doctor".
Have you heard of Tricare? Thats the INSURANCE for Military Families. If you go to another part of the US you have to change providers or it won't cover anything. They will tell you which Doctor you MUST use or they will tell you "Sure you can choose your own doctor...as long as you pay for it" It takes weeks to change over the coverage to the "correct" division and weeks more to be seen by the doctor they tell you that you are allowed to see in the clinic they choose. Now, can you really tell me any other government health care program would be any better....
If these people telling you how great this plan is were named Pinnochio...their noses would be in Hawaii by now.

Funny isn't it, ALL, not some of the big government entitlement programs were created by the Democratic party, the same party that has decided that the government now is going to be your healthcare provider. At least the Republican party recognizes that government is way too big to micromanage this kind of program. But you get what you vote for and apparently there are a majority of Americans who really want to live in a Socialist nation and that is what we are creating, one program at a time. AT what point are there enough programs to call ourselves Socialists? I don't know, but we are getting pretty close.

I am NOT surprised. I spent a half a day at the Regional Baltimore Maryland Veterans Affairs office yesterday. It seems after my retirement the VA is paying me at the single rate and I have a dependant which is listed on my form. I am 70% disabled. They denied my claim because they claim that they didn't receive my paper work that I sent in. I spoke to the supervisor and now I am contacting the head of the dysfunctional VA system Mr. Shineski. Yes these employees are ignorant and rude. Half of them aren't even Veterans so they don't care about throwing your paper work away. It amazes me how I can't even get a job witht he VA. You know it's an inside hook up where they hire your momma, daddy, sister, and friends. They don't hire Veterans !!

I have a couple of issues as well. I am a retired U.S. Marine. Faithfully served my country for more than 22 years. I went to the VA Hospital in Portland because of a back problem I have. I had a discectomy while in the Marines and my back goes out twice a year. I went to the VA with 5 vertabrae out of wack. I could hardly walk ( I am ony 46 years old), anyways, I came back after being told I needed an appointment with a specialist. This is after coming to the emergency room. I came back 2 days later and the Dr. saw me for appx 10 minutes. Then said he can't help me. He gave me 3 names of Dr.'s in the area that might be able to help me. He wrote them down on a napkin and handed it to me. No phone numbers, no introduction to another specialist, just a napkin. Then I proceded to the admin section to pay for my 2 visits. I was told I made $500 more than was "allowed" and therefore I had to pay full price for both visits. Don't get me wrong, I would have paid any price, because I was in pain, and my foot and leg had numbness and tingling. What gets me is the service was unprofessional and the fact I make too much money to use the VA after serving my country for 22 years! It shouldn't matter how much money I make. I made a life long commitment to my country. Maybe, I should just do nothing and fall below the poverty level so I can get service. It shoouldn't matter wether I make $1 or $1 million dollars. A VA hospital should be for veterans. Semper-Fidelis!!

I worked 2 years with the VA and decided to go back to school to be a teacher. This story is propaganda. You would never get a letter in the mail with a diagnosis. This is a ploy to attack health care reform. Anyone that is a veteran knows the only time you get a letter in the mail from the VA, is to cancel an appointment or tell you to schedule one. Everyone on here is niave and falls for anything in the media. Next time question the validity of a story.

Oh yeah! Just like this will never happen again. The Obama Health Care plan has a clause which gives preference in hiring to minorities and to universities which give preference to minorities. Rather than the best health care from the most qualified staff, we will get the worst care for the most money from some Pakistani doctor with a Cambodian nurse in a clinic run by some other minority.

You ever wonder why a doctor would take the tremendous pay cut that they have to take to work at the VA? You think it is because he wants to help the soldiers? The facts are that those are the doctors that got that C average in college and cant cut it in the real world. No thank you to them working on me! I will go see the high-priced private doc who got the A average! Never did use the VA insurance and never will. In fact in almost 30 years of paying insurance premiums, I cannot honestly say when the last time that I used insurance was, I dont remember ever using it-I damn sure dont even know how to use it. The problem with the medical community is that they treat the problem with drugs that only mask the problem and dont solve anything. The drugs make you feel better, but try going off them and see what happens. If more doctors practiced preventative medicine and wholistic medicine and treated the symptoms at an early stage then there would not be the health problem in this country that there is. Everybody wants drug to feel good and the doctors and the drug companies know this, so they keep taking your money and you keep paying and you keep complaining. Sorry, but not me!Personally I dont care if the government takes over healthcare. Im not using it now and I wont use it then--if it saves me money on my premiums, though, I say bring it on. If it is gonna cost me the same or more, then I say "go to Hell"!

Dear "Craig August 25", your statement does not make sense! I was in the military for 11 years and I tell people that if they hear something about military care,..believe it! Also, MSN & MSNBC are the biggest shills for the Obama administration out there. If these guys are reporting something negative like this then it must be so.

The government has, and will continue, to screw up any program they have control of. They are enormously overstaffed in every branch and continue to hire more people who couldn't qualify for jobs in the private sector. Let's get our collective heads out of our butt and fight to keep the government out of our lives.

Craig, I beg to differ. I am a disabled veteran and I got a letter in the mail from the VA with a listed diagnostic of my right wrist. Well it wasn't a list per say as it was telling what the problem was and wasn't and the name of it.

I too am completely disabled and I am being (mis)treated at a VA Hospital. One of the drugs I was given caused me to break out in a rash so severe that it has left scars. When the rash first developed, I was not allowed to see a nurse or a doctor for nearly 2 weeks even though I was bleeding anytime I brushed up against something. When I finally got to see a PA, his comment was "You are going to be a very interesting case since we have never this this happen before, but here is how we are going to treat it" After much insistence, I was given an appointment to see a specialist - three months later. I was the first appointment that day. The doctor (who was old enough to retire years ago) walked in on with a cane, could not log onto his own computer or operate all of the equipment in his on examining room and proceeded to tell me that I was allergic to the medication and that I should not take in any longer. He then [prescribed a cream to rub onto the rash (covering nearly my entire body). I had already figured out that I was allergic to this medication and had stopped taking it weeks earlier. For those who have always had private doctors and health care, This is an example of what government run health care is all about.

Would you rather lose everything you have and have to go bankrupt because you can't afford health insurance even though you've worked hard all your life?

Would you rather lose everything you have and have to go bankrupt because you can't afford health insurance even though you've worked hard all your life?

I am a veteran and must say that the negative comments on this story are coming from negative people. It is the "blame" mentality that is so prevalent in todays society. For me it is all about attitude and acceptance. When my attitude is good it seems like the medical care that I receive at the VA gets better.

The government took over the day to day operations of a whorehouse in Vegas in 1980 due to unpaid taxes. You might think anyone could make a go of a business that sells sex & whiskey! People are lining up at the door to get in but the government failed at that. What makes anyone think the government can manage healthcare when they cannot successfully sell sex & whiskey?

Yeah, this is the same government that runs the military and is responsible for roads. We sure don't want them looking out for our medical care. In fact we should dismantle all military pensions, medicaid, and social security, and give it all to the insurance, pharmasutical, energy, and banking industries who take such good care of us and keep our costs low and stable. In fact, let's include the cable companies,too!

Scott, reporting legitimate incidents is not negativity but facts. How you deal with these incidents however can have a factor on how you yourself are dealt with in these situations.

No one has even mentioned the quite recent mistake that the va made. Please read the following.

(Three VA patients have tested positive for AIDS after colonscopy equipment was not properly cleaned and sterilized. Another 25 VA patients, 7 in Florida have contracted hepatitis B or C due to similar contamination issues. While VA officials are quick to deny the link between the diseases and the improperly sterilized medical equipment, the Veterans Administration has contacted 3,341 people who may have been similarly exposed.

Last month the VA reported that three hospitals in Florida, Tennessee, and Georgia failed to follow the proper sterilization procedures regarding colonoscopy machines. Rather than the prescribed method of disinfection, the machines were merely rinsed leaving other patients open to exposure to serious, infectious diseases.)

If you think government run health care would be good for you, consider the above news release.
You may say that is not a big percentage, but you would think twice if it had been you or one of your loved one.
People wake up and see the truth. Government health care may sound good to you, BUT IT WILL NOT BE! Please take a stand against Government Healthcare.

Yes, there needs to be SOME reforms but not a government run healthcare system.

No one has even mentioned the quite recent mistake that the va made. Please read the following.

(Three VA patients have tested positive for AIDS after colonscopy equipment was not properly cleaned and sterilized. Another 25 VA patients, 7 in Florida have contracted hepatitis B or C due to similar contamination issues. While VA officials are quick to deny the link between the diseases and the improperly sterilized medical equipment, the Veterans Administration has contacted 3,341 people who may have been similarly exposed.

Last month the VA reported that three hospitals in Florida, Tennessee, and Georgia failed to follow the proper sterilization procedures regarding colonoscopy machines. Rather than the prescribed method of disinfection, the machines were merely rinsed leaving other patients open to exposure to serious, infectious diseases.)

If you think government run health care would be good for you, consider the above news release.
You may say that is not a big percentage, but you would think twice if it had been you or one of your loved one.
People wake up and see the truth. Government health care may sound good to you, BUT IT WILL NOT BE! Please take a stand against Government Healthcare.

Yes, there needs to be SOME reforms but not a government run healthcare system.

my stepfathers dad died after minor surgery in a va hospital.my stepfather had cancer on his face.the va kept putting him off to have it removed.after letters to our senators they approved for him to go to a cancer hospital.the first surgeon he seen there said it should of been removed shortley after the diagnoses and he wouldnt be able to remove it because it had spread and that another surgeon there would have to do it.it was removed and he had a few skin graphs done on his face. they thought they might of had to remove one eye because of the spread of the cancer luckily they didnt .the first surgeon he seen at the cancer hospital brought in some interns to see him before the surgery and said this is what the va did to this guy. we dont need goverment run health care.they cant give the ones who fought for this country decent health care. how are they going to be able to give everybody else decent health care.

my stepfathers dad died after minor surgery in a va hospital.my stepfather had cancer on his face.the va kept putting him off to have it removed.after letters to our senators they approved for him to go to a cancer hospital.the first surgeon he seen there said it should of been removed shortley after the diagnoses and he wouldnt be able to remove it because it had spread and that another surgeon there would have to do it.it was removed and he had a few skin graphs done on his face. they thought they might of had to remove one eye because of the spread of the cancer luckily they didnt .the first surgeon he seen at the cancer hospital brought in some interns to see him before the surgery and said this is what the va did to this guy. we dont need goverment run health care.they cant give the ones who fought for this country decent health care. how are they going to be able to give everybody else decent health care.

My dad is a VA viet and he has been having trouble for the last several years with his health. His twin brother had gone to the VA hospital for some minor issues and they diagnosed him with Luekemia. They put him on some kind of drugs and eventually (in about 1 years time) he died. We don't know for sure if it was this cancer or if it was the medicine prescribed by the VA hospital. Now my dad is going to the hospital and taking their medications. I have never seen him in this bad of shape. I told him to go to a regular doctor and stop taking their "pick one, today's special, cure anything" drugs. They now think he might have Lou Gehrig's Disease. But they don't know. He has lost his job, racted up $100,...worth of medical expenses and they still can't tell him why he has trouble breathing, talking, and eating. They definitely know that he has Post Pardum Stress Disorder. Well, who wouldn't have stess disorders after being in war and having that kind of stress in your face all day and night? Teach them how to deal with it and let it go. Don't just tell them that they need to take this drug every day for the rest of their life. They get dependent upon it and then, when it runs out, and they can't get it, they freak out and go crazy. Alternative medication and therapy. Not prescription drugs and another appointment in two months. As for the government health care, they should be responsible for providing veteran health care, they just shouldn't be incharge of it. Thank you to all the Viets that have served this country to keep it free so that we all have a chance to give a free opinion. Thank you for your service and dedication to our freedom. I pray that God will take care of each of you in return for the care that you all have provided for us. It's just too bad that more people in this country don't appreciate the effort that is made by our military men and women every day, for us that don't serve our military. Thank you.

I am sorry but these types of mistakes happen in every healthcare setting. The difference is here is that the VA admitted to making a MASS mistake. Usually in an HMO setting- you would get the news at your next appt. As far as the PTSD thing goes- I work for a county clinic now and you would not believe the amount of 20 and 30 somethings that are trying to get SDI SSI and general relief for anxiety-or stress. No one wants counseling. Everyone tests dirty for illegal substances and half the people are positive for prescriptions that they should NOT be on while testing NEG for things that they are prescribed. The healthcare system needs reform. I know people from UK and Canada and no one has come here and been anything near impressed by our healthcare system. Its time for a change. When you see seniors and elderly living on 400 or 600 dollars a month and still having to pay out of pocket for meds that inevitably keep them functioning you would change your mind or at least open it.

This has nothing to do with health care, President etc people, this has all to do with people that go to work at the VA to grab a paycheck and don't give a carp about others.
I know a few that work for the VA and all that goes on is a whole lot of game playing, beer outings, affairs & backstabbing "personnal issues" instead of working. They continue to play because they are covered by their Union & abuse it. They keep those who keep making mistakes and get rid of the others who would do the job right.
It's about time that the VA get their act together and start eliminating those who fool around at work and with peoples emotions, health & well being. Mistake my rear, it's incompetent nurses that work for the VA. It wasn't the President or any official having to do with health isurance, typing in and filling out papers with the info for these patients. It was the VA workers.
GET RID OF THEM

Now the scape goat is the data input error...what will be next?

The VA is not perfect. Their budget is affected by the military budget each year. As it goes down the VA budget goes down by an even greater percent. As far as doctors and nurses are concerned there are an inordinant number of minoriies with most of these being middle eastern foreigners. I am concerned about them as they, in many cases, are anti-American and are here because of the money. I have had the best luck with PA's especially those who have retired from the military and find them to be better at doctoring and much more compassionate. Also, my dad who is a WWII vet has Parkinsons. If it weren't for the VA he and my mother wouldn't be able to live due to the cost of his medication. Under Obama's plan these meds will be cut off and he will just be allowed to die because at 85 he will not be considered productive to society anymore. Currently he mows his own yard, does home repairs, etc. Without his meds he would not be able to be self sufficient.

all these comments just show that Gov. run healthcare is not the problem its anything run by the gov. always cost 4x what it sould and takes 4x longer to get. Wait till all the fraud is exposed in the CLUNKER program, by dealers that filled out all the paperwork on cars they never saw. I have grave concerns over any adminastration that thinks they can do business.

I feel I have to respond to the coments about rude nurses. I retired from the VA, worked in a busy ER in a large city. I have been hit, pushed, spit on, cursed at, taken care of down and out Vets (that's down on the street, dead drunk)given them bathes, got food and clothes for them, called for a free taxi that the VA paid for and the care was free. There will always be human error in any work force. I worked 12 hour shifts, usually short staffed. Don't judge a system as large as the VA by one incident that happened to you personally. Yes I wanted my paycheck, I earned it. I had a family to care for also.
Retired RN

I feel I must respond to the negative comments about VA staff. I retired from the VA as an emergency room nurse, in a large city. I have been hit, pushed, spit on, cursed at and had a gun pulled on me. I took care of all vets including the down and out (down on the street dead drunk) bathed them, fed them and got clothes for them. Called a free taxi which the VA paid for. All their care was free. I worked 12 hour shifts and usually short staffed. Yes, I wanted my pay check, I earned it and had a family to care for. Retired Registered nurse

This is outrageous...these men have fought to defend what little freedom we have left...many in wars they did not understand...and this is the way we reward them??? For God's sake AMERICA...wake up!!!

0.08% of 200 is 0.16 of a person NOT 16 persons

Why am I the only one who sees a problem with our health care in this country? Are Canada, Japan, Britain, or Australia communist or facist? No. But they do have standardized health care. Government involvement is at different levels. We are the last from 19 industrialized nations. We are also one of the most unhealthy. What we need is a checks and ballance on the corrupt, over priced health care options out there now. Same principal as UPS and Fed Ex going against, at the time, shabby U.S. Post office. Health is as important as road taxes or school taxes, right? If we don't think the gov't is able of handling health care, why not march, vote, or demand in other democratic ways to fuel change where needed? The current system of health care is failing. I am a Iraq war combat veteran not an extremist left or what not. Just think about it please.

look i am a veteran recieving care from the va facilities in different states. please don't condem all the nurses and va employees just because you had a bad experience . I have also had bad experienceses with the but only wit the people who i thought were not good at their job. You see Glenn Beck.and all of O'Riley's buddies at fox. I don't hold it aginst all anglo people just because you people hate to see non anglo people live with liberty and dignity in America. You see Mr. O'Riley I too (although I am not anglo) served Our country.

look i am a veteran recieving care from the va facilities in different states. please don't condem all the nurses and va employees just because you had a bad experience . I have also had bad experienceses with the but only wit the people who i thought were not good at their job. You see Glenn Beck.and all of O'Riley's buddies at fox. I don't hold it aginst all anglo people just because you people hate to see non anglo people live with liberty and dignity in America. You see Mr. O'Riley I too (although I am not anglo) served Our country.

I have worked for the government and with the government for over 30 years and let me tell you most of the government agencies should be done away with due to the quality of staff they have working within them. The government does not know how to run even small facilities much less anything large. I do not trust them with anything that has to do with health care. I speak from experience in the health care area.

I was told at Kaiser that I had a rather large tumor in the upper partion of my colon. The doctor even insisted that I stay in his office because I wasn't giving him the right reaction. He had me stary there until I showed signs that I was upset. With further tests a week later my colon was clear and I didn't even have a palup. The were not sure what made the shadow on my CT scan. Very tense week. A lot of unnecessary tests.

I am a veteran and happy with my GOVT HEALTH CARE. So are the senators and congeressmen/congresswomen who oppose govt run healtcare but have govt run healthcare. So are the medicare recipients. This was an error that could have happened to anyone. Similar accidents have happened to civilian hospitals too. Dont make a mountain out of a molehill.

I am a veteran and I am happy with my GOVT RUN HEALTH CARE. So are the senators and congressmen/congresswomen who oppose govt run health care for you but enjoy the benefits for themselves. So are all the recipients of Medicare. This was an error that could happen to any organization. Don't make a mountain out of a molehill.

not impressed with my private health care - can't afford it anyway. no big deal with govt. run health care. it's basically still the same doctors. they all go to the same medical schools anyway. ignorant americans, the lot of you.

not impressed with my private health care - can't afford it anyway. no big deal with govt. run health care. it's basically still the same doctors. they all go to the same medical schools anyway. ignorant americans, the lot of you.

Dr. Ezekeil Emanuel a top adviser to Obama, has written the following, (he is the brother of Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama's Chief of Staff) The Complete Lives System. "Health services should not be guaranteed to individuals who are irreversibly prevented from being or becoming participating citizens. An obvious example is not guaranteeing health services to patients with dementia." Emanuel has some very frightening ideas about who's fit to live and who's life should end by denying medical procedures. I suppose once you retire and are no longer contributing to society you are disposable. Since social security is going broke, now the government will deny quality care for everyone, therefore, ending your life prematurely. Watch out seniors. The system the government wants to implement would create guidelines to doctors and patients about what procedures work best in what situations. The same experts will also provide guidelines to doctors about what procedures will not be allowed. What if you have cancer and the type of treatment you need is not allowed. The Complete Lives System does "pull the plug on grandma." If the "expert health panel" (death panel) deems certain treatments not cost effective, the governmnet will be pulling the plug on grandma, disabled vets, overweight people, handicapped indivduals, etc. Ultimately, The Complete Lives System will empower the government to decide fairly whom to save when genuine scarcity makes saving everyone impossible. Everyone should read this for themselves.

Yup, par for the course. My wife is an RN at the Central Iowa VA. I'm actually surprised more events like this aren't reported. You see these doctors and nurses treat these vet's like they are an inncovience.

Just another example of how government mucks it up when they run anything. Medicare, Medicaid, Post Office, Fannie Mae, Highway Trust Fund....and we even consider giving them control over health care?

Everybody should have health care. There are pros and cons of the european system, american, and canadian. Learn from them, everybody should be working on the main root: 'Everyone should have health care'. Dementia, handicapped, poor, rich, criminals, people who lost job, children, someone who is 108.
Get the point! Work toward healthcare for everyone.
So some 7 year old comes down with leukemia, and you don't think that child should have healthcare? Some 40 year old single mother of 2 comes down with cancer. She shouldn't have health care? Get the point please?

I suppose that you want to blame that on Obama also I know it's those damn republicans doing what they do best give the American public nothing but bull s... right that's all that they are good for any way they ought to do away with the republicna party

i wonder why i see so many lies told about the va...i know many people that have va medical and they do not complain about the care they get. my brothed is a disabled vet and he has had va health care for the last forty years

ass holes

I'm a disabled Vet. I get my health care through the Seattle or Walla Walla, WA. I've have always been treated with respect and the health care has alway been top notch as far as I can see. I have however listened to several Vets complain because they weren't getting the drugs they wanted or felt they deserved some sort of preferential immediate attention because "they are a Veteran". Get over it, theres alot of us needing help. These people can only work so fast. If you want to complain, contact your repesentative and complain that the VA needs more doctors and staff. I recently had to travel about 120 miles to the Seattle hospital for a minor surgery. I was given a two day stay at a local hotel and $100.00 travel pay. The surgery was a success and I'm doing great. Tell me were any other hospital would pay your lodging and travel so they could take care of your medical needs. The VA makes mistakes like anyone else. As a disabled Veteran, I want to give a big thanks to the VA medical system. By the way, for the person who says the VA is not over worked, Just go visit a VA hospital for awhile. The hospital is overran with Veterans waiting for some type of help. My assumption is that many of the people complaining are not even Veterans. Let him without sin cast the first stone. Don't everyone toss at once.

gvmt. workers are not over paid nor are they over worked and federal employees know they won't get fired. "Incompetence" is the word folks should be focusing on.

So many comments saying that the mistakes are made all the time and no reason not to trust government. Just remember that when the private sector makes mistakes, the responsible party pays a price, usually from law suites but at least someone gets fired. Try suing the government, and lets see who gets fired over this error. I suspect that instead of fired someone will get a raise

As an American citizen & an ARMY Mom:
We should be ashamed of the terrible medical
treatment our Brave Veterans receive..it's one
horror story after another.

God Bless our Men & Women of the Armed Forces.
They deserve so much more.

As an American citizen & an ARMY Mom:
We should be ashamed of the terrible medical
treatment our Brave Veterans receive..it's one
horror story after another.

God Bless our Men & Women of the Armed Forces.
They deserve so much more.

I dont have health care at all. I am for the Health care !!!!! I bet this person was a republican!!!!!!!

This is just one horror story about the VA. Many are never revealed. I do have to say, those I deal with in the VA outclinic are courteous and dedicated. One of the problems with the VA is that many of the doctors are not licensed to practice anywhere in the US. That has to tell you what the caliber of the doctors are. Many are from foreign countries and are only there to collect a good pay check.
Mistakes are made, but not on this level. To send letters telling 1200 veterans they have a disease that is fatal is a disgrace. I have asked my Congressman and Senator about VA health care. They tell me it's the best in the world. They are going by the treatment at Walter Reid which is not typical.
Obama needs to fix the three healthcare systems we already have instead of creating a new on for the Govt to screw up

This is what we get for trusting a stupid, not even and american person like the non-president. Oh I forgot he is president thanks to every stupid people. That believe this is a good thing.

YGBSM!

I am so sorry for the diagnosis letters you received. But I am so thankful it was not true. My 45 year old son,and my heart is still broken, died from this ugly, devastating disease in 2004. I hate Lou Gehrig's(ALS) disease. There is no cure. The body is taken and the brain remains great. The brave, including a lot of veterans, who live with this disease are my heros..Please support your local ALS(Lou Gehrig's) group now that you know you are safe. There needs to be a cure found for this before it takes so many of our young men and women, ages usually from 37 to 62 (some younger, some older) who might be your father, wife, son or daughter. Stop talking so ugly about your care giver and be thankful you have them. My husband received great care from the VA. And yes they make mistakes too, but who has not in this life..Try to appreciate your life..Your still alive..from Wife of a WW11 vet....

Sorry something like this could happen,but I would like to set the record straight. I get my care from the V A Hospital here in RI, and I wished that all care centers could be at least as good as the VA hospital. Except for two minor incidents,( no fault to the V A Hospital)but of two not so caring attendants, Finer and more thorough care can not be found anywhere's in the medical field. All my care has been oustanding, by far than any care I have ever gotten!!! ENOUGH SAID!!

I am a VA employee and the reason I work for the VA is because I believe that if veterans can put their life on the line for me then I should do whatever I can to serve them the same way they served me. Yes, there is alot of dead weight in the VA. Unfortunately what people don't understand is that there is a UNION in the VA and this UNION protects bargaining employees so many times management is left holding on to the dead weight because they are scared to fight back and/or just don't have the strength to take on those long battles. Unions do not belong in the Federal Government and/or in healthcare for that matter and should be removed because employees are using them as a scare tactic to intimidate managers who are actually just trying to improve the VA. I am hear to tell you that Federal employees can be fired and there are ways to get rid of the dead weight but it takes a commitment from upper management to take on the fight. Unfortunately these fights take a long time and often times good managers give up and/or are reassigned to other areas because God forbid they hold their staff accountable. If you are someone that thinks government employees are over paid you are greatly mistaken. I manage a department in the VA that is critical in delivering direct patient care but due to budgetary issues I can't hire new people or order new and updated equipment, so I am left to do the best I can. And try to motivate staff under these conditions. Healthcare workers can go into the private sector and make more money than working for the government so what the VA has left to work with are the poor performers who know that all they have to do is file an EEO complaint and they will scare management into leaving them alone. Did you know that they VA has the most EEO complaints filed against them than any other government agency. Matter of fact they have millions of EEO cases pending resolution and have had to hire outside agencies to help with the process. We can spend billions of tax dollars for programs like "Cash for Clunkers" or to bail out the Auto Industry or the Banking Industry but leave the men and women defending this country out in the cold. What about putting some money back into the VA and this country's education system so the VA can recruit newly educated staff that are motivated to perform, but first the VA has to clean house and get rid of the dead weight and the UNION. As a management official I have not given up my fight to get rid of the dead weight because I believe that the veterans need someone on their side. I can understand the frustrations of our country's veterans but not all veterans have had bad experiences. I don't know what we could do to fix the problem but I do know that I'm tired of paying taxes only to have it spent on people who are only in it for the free ride and those individuals who are in this country illegally. Wake up America, because the current administration is using your tax dollars for all the wrong reasons and if it continues then "GOD BLESS AMERICA"

Margo may be happy she doesn't have insurance-UNTIL she gets sick. I'm an retired american living in france. Here I go to the doctor that's close to my house, no appointment is needed, he charges a flat fee of 22 euros. If I need blood tests the nurse comes to my house early in the morning to take blood so I can eat breakfast after. I pay 76 euros a year into the system and 7 euros for any meds I need, I have a series of tests done here that cost me 57 euros, the same ones in the US cost $1200! The health service here pays me back 70% of my out of pocket medical expenses. That's why you need health car insurance that's not profit motivated.

The V.A.for most part does a very good job taking care of their people. If our great goverment would fund them like they should the V.A. would be able to do a lot better job at doing the things they need to do.So!Dont blame the V.A.

husband in viet nam over 40 yrs ago, agent orange detected, retired so did his body ,kept telling them he was tired, july 2007 va told him he had leaukemia, 4 mo later he was dead, don't let them do that to u. u all fought for this country, and u have the right to get what u need. god bless all of u

Cecil Davis is right about it not being a computer error but a human error. He is also right about it not having anything to do with government run healthcare EXCEPT:::: That is the kind of humans they will hire for the cheap skate government healthcare SORRY, someone who will work for nothing and not give a damn about thier job. From the doctor down to the orderly mopping the floors of human waste from the two to three day (or more ) lines at the ER's. WAKE -UP people. It is just another ploy to control US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The V.A.for most part does a very good job taking care of their people. If our great goverment would fund them like they should the V.A. would be able to do a lot better job at doing the things they need to do.So!Dont blame the V.A.

I have a friend who was involved in a bike crash. He went by ambulance to the hospital, had a cat scan and am mri to ensure that he wasn't completely busted up, and walked out five hours later with fourteen stitches and $28,000! bill. He asked the hospital to negotiate the price since he was a student and they refused. Seriously. Who can justify that? My perspective is that people who have health care coverage should have to spend a year without that coverage (including coverage for their children) before they can voice an opinion on the value of affordable insurance.

Oh, and for the record, I have private medical insurance. They make horrid mistakes like the one described above all of the time.

"If you want to complain, contact your repesentative and complain that the VA needs more doctors and staff."

I am a vet and now I also work for the VA. I know for a fact that we are so short-staffed that it has hit a critical point. The number of medical staff who are working doubles on a continuous basis just to cover the shifts is truly unbelievable. Until I went behind the scenes, I never would have believed what they were going through. It makes no sense for them to be paying time and a half, day in and day out when they could just hire a few more bodies.

CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE. Please.

One more thing. Something needs to be done about the firing policy. When an employee isn't doing their job, they need to be disciplined and then if that doesn't change matters, they need to be relieved of their position.

I spent 20 years in the National Guards and I never got to be part of any action in any war. I went to the V.A. Hospital in Manteno,Il.and I was told that I am not a vet. I had NO insurance at the time and this is how I was treated. I am in my 50's and I am Disable. I have "Medicare" but I have to stay on my wife's insurance,because medicare won't cover it all. No,if she get's laid off or fired I will be screwed because I won't be able to afford my medicine. She is not old enough to retire and when she does there is NO insurance. Now,is she suppose to work until she dies? It seems that way.

My brother is a disable Vet also and he gets treated , worse than the frigging detanees at GITMO. Give me a break these news stories ARE NOT FALSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, etc. provide resources for the uninsured. All of the above are government programs. Many have not heard of CHIP (The Children's Health Insurance Program) . This program preserves coverage for millions of children who are uninsured. This program also provides dental coverage. So people wake up! The fact that someone lost their job, is 108, etc. doesn't have health benefits is totally delusional. Plain and simple, we don't need anymore government involvement in our health care system.

"It has to do with the hiring process of sorry people who aren't capable of their jobs."Posted by: cecil davis at August 25, 2009 6:12 AM.. this is really funny.. you mean EXACTLY like your president? sure looking that way.. huh

It doesn't surprise me. The VA told me I have no heart problems even though I have Left Ventricle Hypertrophy, Mitrol Valve Prolapse and Criticle Coronary Artery Disease. They told me I have no lung problems, though I have Severe COPD, Emphesema,severe scarring and my lungs have collapsed twice. Cheaper to let you die than to treat you has been my exsperience with them!

I work for the VA and its like any other business. They aren't perfect and there are good people that truly do there jobs!

I too am a Marine Vet. I recieved care at the Memphis Tennessee V.A. Hospital. I was treated with great respect and am very thankfull of the care I got. I know hundreds of people who wish they could have V.A. healthcare, simply because they can't afford the Insurance premiums or copays required by our medical system. People are suffuring and in a nation as great as ours, this is uncalled for and can be fixed. Big money doesn't want healthcare reform, they fear they will loose the influence their money gets them. Choose people not $$$$$$.

Thank you Ken and THANK YOU FOR FIGHTING FOR OUR FREEDOM!!!

I really have ALS. By retracting the letter, does that mean that now I don't have the disease? How far do you want to go with this. Fire the people who sent out the letters.

Did you guys ever think that maybe the "slip up" wasn't such a mistake in that MANY of these Gulf War Vets DO HAVE severe neurological symptoms, extreme sensitivity to sunlight, mold, toxins and other environmental factors ALONG with stabbing pains in their muscles, joints, arteries, brain, etc...sometimes having local paralysis? I think the letter WASN'T a mistake and something given to these suffering vets (vaccination, etc.) CAN leave them with permanent debilitating syndromes such as Lou Gherigs, MS, Lupus, Sarcoidosis, Arthritis, Tremors, tumors, and seizure disorders. I KNOW of vets that DO have these symptoms. Perhaps the idiot govt. let their human experimentation cat out of the bag and justice is served. Just my humble view.

I agree with Matt K This country is slowly becoming a socialist nation, and I am sad to say that years from now america will be regretting who they voted for and realize it was just a man that promised hope and change, he could not deliver, but instead gave us a change that no one would have hoped for. This nation does need change and that is to return to the beleifs and values this country was founded upon

Let's not pick on the military too much - but remember VA hospital use nonmilitary doctors - what is the excuse at Walter Reed Hospital. Having government run medical care will bring the same people overseeing our medical care.

I just read a lot of comments here and 99 percent of them are talking about the V.A. Health care they have, or someone they know have received. There are defiantly just call for them and as I agree with most of them especially the one where they guy talks about the pharmacy of the V.A.'s change prescriptions with out telling the doctors or the patients are things that must be fixed. After all a pharmacist that has never seen or diagnosed a patients medication is a true injustice and they do it all the time with the blessings of their superiors. Shoot I am a 100 percent disabled with a letter R rating and they have done this to me two times in the past 6 years to a medication I take. Every one that was in the military have all been required to show up to dentist appointments and if they did not they usually got article 15's. Here at the White River Junction I actually have to get permission to get my teeth cleaned by a public dentist.

OK this is the jest of what I have to say. First here in America the distribution of wealth is vastly unbalanced. And as the eternal saying money talks is a truth undisputed. I believe they call this greed. So now all these people that have the real power "money" never seem to have enough. Truly the only way that this has changed is when good people " like our fore fathers" took things in hand by rising up in violent revolution. And not just in America however all over the world since the organization of society. Now I am not saying that this has to happen here again, but I am saying that the American people have to create a non violent revolution. This two party option that we have been dealing with for such a long time needs to be kicked in the pants by the we the people. Independent candidates have been around for a long time. However most have not stood a chance because they lack the resources to truly challenge and win against the status quo. In truth we have to grasp the future by getting involved and getting rid of all the politicians that get elected time and time again. If we can do this, and I believe we can, then things can and will change. I believe that these congressman and senators seem to never had the betterment for all people in mind when they get into power. I Think that the Republicans and the Demarcates are very afraid of change. And God knows that they are quite fearful of real change. So With that being said I believe that the only way that if we really want, and God knows we need change, then we as a people will have to do it ourselves. We have to take responsibility and act accordingly.

Your welcome Heather! Thank you too for helping those in need. Your work does make a differance and I'm sure there are many who feel this way. Thanks again!

The veteranns administration SUCKS. Annd now the want to stick the whole U.S. in the same mess.

And You STILL want govt. heath insurance, you people are SICK

I'll keep my current health care and you can keep the change.

A prime example of the fine Govt. we have..keep your change..

Government workers are overworked and underpaid?! Get real. For the most part they are union members (hence the BIG interest in the unions getting a Government provided Public option == tens of thousands of jobs THEY can control). And they are the laziest damn creatures on the planet. They don't think, and merely do the job in front of them based on the papers they have. And heaven help you if you want to innovate and improve the government offices. They resist all change claiming it is infringing on union jobs, and fight tooth and nail to stop the change or have it modified to guarentee the jobs still exist. It's been estimated that with proper business procedures and modernazation of government offices that you could easily eliminate 1/2 the workers while getting twice the work done.

So sure, you support a government run health plan. Me, I'll sign up with a doctor for yearly based fee services and skip the nightmare that bueracrats will create.

It sounds like everyone agrees that health care reform is needed. With all the time spent complaining online, have any of you written to your state representatives? The government will never be "for the people" if the people don't speak up... in the proper forum.

I was misdiagnosed with Lou gehrig disease by a private health care doctor when it was Lyme, accidents happen, GET A SECOND OPINION, if these people did not have the VA where would they be getting health care?

Then VA is like being on Welfare, The Doctors they hire don't care about there patients like if you were in the best hospital in the world!
They lose records faster then a flea market sell items!
You want to say this is the Govenment Health Care!
You don't know what health care is until you become a Senator, Congressman, or the President of the US!
They don't pay for it it is free to them!!!!!
We the Tax Payers Pay For there Health Care!!!!
Just Like We Pay For Them The Rest Of There Life and There Wifes Too!!!!!
Do we get that working after we retire?
NO We Still Pay Taxes They Don't!!!!!
This Health Care they want to put in place should make ALL HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS PAY A SET PRICE!
And All The Malpractice suites be a SET AMOUNT NO MORE THEN 300,000.00 that will help keep the insurance down!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have been after my Senators over this but have not got a reply from them at all they only want the TAX PAYING WORKING CLASS TO PAY MORE JUST LIKE MY STATE DOES TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

watch out for the next big "mistake" on its way--
everybody has to get vaccinated against yet another man-made disease....

My private insurance kept going up 20% year after year. So I decided in these economic times to just have catastrophic insurance with a 5k deductable, I got the lowest premium available. After 90 days on the plan Anthem Blue Cross raised my premium 50%!!!!! Private for Profit Insurance Sucks. All you guys against gov.supported nonprofit Competition to the Private Insurance Companies are handing them the reigns to forever take our money, raise the premiums, and resist any healthcare you mayt need when you really need it. You all must work for private insurance co's or something.

Obama and all Politcals have the best health care they won't give that up to get what they want for us.

My private insurance kept going up 20% year after year. So I decided in these economic times to just have catastrophic insurance with a 5k deductable, I got the lowest premium available. After 90 days on the plan Anthem Blue Cross raised my premium 50%!!!!! Private for Profit Insurance Sucks. All you guys against gov.supported nonprofit Competition to the Private Insurance Companies are handing them the reigns to forever take our money, raise the premiums, and resist any healthcare you mayt need when you really need it. You all must work for private insurance co's or something.

Obama and all Politcals have the best health care they won't give that up to get what they want for us.

Bill Lee has a problem. He's repetitive, he's repetitive, he's repetitive. I am a vet and also work for the VA. My health care is none but the best, but i'm not hooked on drugs like some people who gripe and moan about the drugs they can't get, which has nothing to do with the problem stated in the article. Yes, mistakes are made, and paid for. Get over it!!!!

Wow, this blog is unreal. I have a grave history with the Armed Forces (Air Force & Army), and have worked for the VA several years. Some statements I can agree with and some are just bashing and ignorance. Pure, hogwash. Yes the VA does make mistakes like many other medical providing businesses. The difference is that any benefits provided are not simply covered by a premium that has been paid by you or an employer, and the Dr's (or any staff) don't get their pay for fees based off of how much they can diagnose you with, treat you with, and keep billing your insurance for. Every public sector business has a bottom line (money and financial gain), or as we have recently seen the rip offs, while the CEOs and CFOs extort millions and go on fancy retreats. Or if you are rich enough, Dr's will basically diagnose you with whatever you want them to (to obtain certain drugs for instance). Look at Michael Jackson.

Anyway, my true point is the fact that it's quite funny with the several comments about rudeness at the VA, incompetence, etc. The reality of the matter is behind the scences, the VA and Federal Government as a whole are made up of approximately 62% of veteran's as employees, or persons with derived veteran's preference. Also there are so many hiring regulations that are applicable to hiring veteran's you can't imagine. On top of that, the additional regulations that cover removing employees once they are employed with the federal government. It takes time, due process, and a lot of documentation. Remember we have unions which employees continually grieve, grieve, grieve. And although the burden of proof is that they may lack performance you have to follow very stringent guidelines for removal. And even when you get to the point of removing an individual then BAM...... the employee cries some type of discrimination. So give me a break.

The next issue is about customer service. Poor customer service is definitely unwanted and is documented and tracked in the VA, along with other federal agencies. The agencies have been trying to address these issues but guess what. It's a lot of Veteran's helping Veteran's. Many times the person that may be assisting or providing poor customer service is yes that employee that has been around for 35 years and does just enough to stay at the job but also knows the system or a veteran themselves whose a disabled veteran that may be diagnosed with PTSD, manic behavior, someother type of mental illness, and maybe a few dislocated discs in their back. But remember eventhough they may be qualified for the job on paper, we can not discriminate against them due to disabilities that we obviously see that may or may not cause a problem with dealing with other patients with mental illnesses, etc. Well can you imagine what kind of service you'll get from that person on their bad day. Continue imaging that they are having several bad weeks. Now finally revert back to my earlier paragraph regarding unions, and grievances, and oh my goodness a veteran at that. Now we have congress involved, and all kind of veteran organizations because we tried to actually discipline an EMPLOYEE who happens to be a veteran. How do you fix all of this overnight. You can't....

Bottom line, is the problem within the government is often times the same people who are the complainers of the issues at hand and feel everything is done on purpose, and nobody cares about good treatment and health care provided to our Veterans are the same one's at fault.

Stop believing everything in the newspaper or on the news. You should know by now that big business always involve more than what's told or much of the information shared is fabricated by the news. Plus, the VA is to large to respond individually and if anyone knows about government everything is processed through resolution first then responses are done by the Public Affairs office. I am sure for those veteran's whom received the letter, as quickly as a resolution or verification is done, you will be contacted directly but if you did contact your healthcare professional they would happily go over any information with you, but don't expect a mass letter to go out AGAIN about the error. Didn't that just happen and cause mass confusion.... Uh Duh, Think about it.

Oh last note, about the whole veteran's prefence thing regarding hiring. My family is full of veteran's and I read one statement that a guy said he went to the hospital and was not considered to be a veteran even though he served in the national guard. Uhhh, you said it yourself you served in no war, conflict, etc. When they say you are not entitled to veteran's preference, they are not saying your NOT a veteran of some kind. It simply means you do not meet the very clearly defined eligibility requirements defined for treating certain veteran's. I don't know why everyone thinks that the VA has an open door policy, to take care of everyone who has ever stepped foot at basic training, the reserves, or was signed up for guard. It's just like civilian hospitals and medical coverage. If you go to a hospital for treatment and do not have insurance they have clearly defined lines that they MUST treat you and that's basically if your in a life or death situation at that moment. Otherwise, they get reimbursed by programs such as CHIP if you are eligible. If not they say the same thing.... So Sorry. My grandfather served in the Korean War, and my other grandfather the Vietnam War, and my husband during Iraqi and Enduring Freedom almost never complain. They are very happy with their treatment and what they get and have purple hearts, compaign medals, etc. Then I see "veterans" who basically stepped foot at basic training and was active for 1 month during a certain timeframe such as Global War but never was actually in a war zone, war, compaign, or even out of the US and they are being treated for every kind of illness under the sun, incurred during active duty (1 month) or not. They also seem to be the least satisfied with their care, because they basically want to milk the system for everything it will give, even though they may have become drug addicts, alcholics, homelessness, etc on their own will (not related to any war trauma, etc). Many of these "veteran's" have never even been further than being yelled at by the TI or was kicked out do to misconduct within 6 months. This is sad, and unfair for those "Veteran's" with just cause and are just swallowed up in the system by those who just milk it. Everyone is beat down from that, because unfortunately we see it everyday.

I think I gave plenty food for thought.

Wow!!!! People really eat this kind of thing up. What a terrible administration.............Gotta get rid of them before you, too, get nailed by the evil democrats looking to take over government. Ohhhhhh!!!!!! What about the thousands of soldiers who have actually died of a terminal disease called war?

Wow!!!! People really eat this kind of thing up. What a terrible administration.............Gotta get rid of them before you, too, get nailed by the evil democrats looking to take over government. Ohhhhhh!!!!!! What about the thousands of soldiers who have actually died of a terminal disease called war?

Yup, it's sad especially for those who have fought and lost their lives in or at war. They really need to do something to streamline the eligibility for care, which will probably help decrease the overwhelming number of patients versus staff at VA facilities and focus can be put back into quality of care versus mass and quick care concepts.

Oh yeah, about the terrible administration. Yup this is called our USC (United Stated Code) and CFR (Code of Federal Regulations). Go figure.

Oh yeah, about the terrible administration. Yup this is called our USC (United Stated Code) and CFR (Code of Federal Regulations). Go figure.

Everyone seems to be going on about health care and the care that vets get at the VA but we are forgetting about the people who got these letters and their families. My father suffered and I do mean suffered with Lou Gehrig's for almost 3 years. My sisters and I had to watch him suffer and die in a horrible way. For months we saw him get worse and worse until his entire body was paralized and in the end could not eat, drink, talk, or even swallow. I can not understand how anyone could be given this kind of news by a letter in the mail! What about the questions that they would have, what about explaining this death sentence to them. What about some compassion! When we were given the news that our father had ALS we were met by his doctors and they took up the time to tell us all that they could about it and what we could expect. They also helped us get in touch with people that could help us like home health, support groups and so on. I just can not see how this kind of news could be given to anyone let alone someone who has fought for our freedom in a letter! When someone tells you that someone that you love has a terminal illness and that they will die from this it is a feeling like a punch in the gut. I think that we should pray for the folks that got this letter and for their families. I know that they have been heart broken over this and gone through undue stress. I also understand that mistakes happen and maybe it was just a simple typo but these are peoples lives we are talking about here. You know it is our lives that they take into their hands when they fight for our freedom. You should look up ALS and read about what a nasty thing it is. Support your local ALS assoc. the government does very little to help in reasearch for the cause or for a cure or even a treatment to help those who suffer. Look it up. This could have a positive outcome if more people will research ALS and draw more attention to it. More needs to be done for the people with ALS.

Ahhhh the joys of the "No One Left Behind" educational system. Get used to the errors people because with the lack of education it's only going to get worse.

ALS is not something to joke about. My dad passed away because of Lou Gehrigs disease. Quite a devistating bit of news to receive on accidenby

Ahhhh the joys of the "No One Left Behind" educational system. Get used to the errors people because with the lowering of bar to ground level in educational standards it's only going to get worse.

ALS is not something to joke about. My dad passed away because of Lou Gehrigs disease. Quite a devistating bit of news to receive by accident

ALS is not something to be taken lightly. My father passed away becasue of Lou Gehrigs disease. What a devistating bit of news to receive by accident!

My husband is a 100% Korean War Vet. It took nearly 40 years to get that 100% disability (believe me, we didn't get that back pay), but I will say that he has gotten good treatment at McClellan Hosp. in Little Rock, Arkansas since then. I know there are good and bad people who work at all the hospitals, but that goes for any business. I know it is almost impossible for anyone to lose a job, and yes, I see a lot of hospital personnel wandering around not doing anything. But my husband has had Doctors that called him late after hours to give him a report and I have had other personnel call on Saturday to discuss issues....so not all VA staff are incompetent.

My husband now has late stage Alzheimers and the VA here has Home Based Primary Care. My husband has a team of a Doctor, Nurse Practicioner, Social Worker, Occupational Therapist and Dietician who come to our home. This is one of the best programs they could have. It takes the stress out of taking him to the hospital to see his primary care physician. I call them anytime with a concern and have always gotten quick, courteous responses.

I DO hear and see the young men and women coming back from Afganistan and Irag who have horrible injuries who do are getting the treatment and support they need and deserve. My heart aches for them and their families. But, I wonder, is this the VA's fault or does the fault lie with our Congressmen and Senators (and Presidents, too) who do not place the priority on the health care and the funds needed to staff these facilities with properly trained Doctors and Nurses to care for these horrible injuries, such as brain injuries and PTSD,loss of limbs and rehibilation. We need more specialized treatment centers across the nation so these men and women could be nearer their families. My fear is that the fault is in Washington, and with the changes we are about to face, I will be willing to bet that the situation only gets worse. As many have said, anytime government gets involved, things only seem to line the pockets of the rich and forget about the poor and those really in need. I hope and pray that I am wrong, but after being on a conference call with one of our state senators and reading reports of others' town hall meetings, I think our representatives and senators have made up their minds to vote for the government run health plan regardless of what their constituents want. I only hope that enough people call their representatives and let them know how you feel and what you expect of your representatives in Washington. Tell them they represent YOU and NOT THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY.

Because this is totally related to Socialized healthcare. They totally have problems like this in France and Germany all the time. Pssh the USA is lame. Way too big, states like MA and CA are held back because of anti-progressivism in states like TN. The only future America has would be split up. I'll probably move elsewhere some day. Only thing is I have all of my friends and family here

wow this is y gov helth care is bad they need to be more careful

Of course, unlike the VA, private health care would 1. Deny that anyone was sick, 2. Deny benefits for a disease that only affected baseball players, or 3. Deny benefits for what must be a 'pre-existing' condition. Private health care providers would never, ever, warn anyone that they might be sick under any circumstances. It could affect their profits. Better to let them die quietly. The VA made a mistake by trying to be helpful. No private for profit health care system would ever make such a mistake.

I don't know about anyone else, but we already have a government health care system. If you don't have a job and no insurance, you go to the county hospital or clinics. You should get to see a doctor there right? That's not what I got when I tried to go! I am usually quite healthy so do not go to the doctor very often. Then, suddenly I needed to go last week. I was told that I could wait up to 24 hours in the county hospital waiting room or pay a minimum of $70.00 to see a doctor at the clinic, which would still take about 8 hours to see a doctor. I was told that I could qualify for a low cost medical plan for the county if I applied, although it takes a week to get an appointment to apply and another two weeks to get approved. So, in three weeks you may see a doctor under the plan, until then its $70+. If this is any indication of how a full run government medical plan would work, its a joke! Some countries may be able to plan and smoothly run a government medical plan, but this country will never pull it off!!! Check out any department of the government we have now and you will find that in most cases, one hand has no idea what the other one is doing. You would think that they could get it together and work as a team, as they like you to in a lot of companies. But they do not know how to work as a team. I am totally against a full scale Government Medical Plan. It would be a nightmare!! I think we should all do a month walk-out on the Health Insurance companies until they reduce our rates to a reasonable amount. If they had no money coming in for 30 days they would have to consider a change!! It seems to work for Unions when they do walkouts!!! Also, if the government wants to involve itself in the overall health care system at all, they should set limits on what doctors can charge for certain procedures so insurance companies will not deny the procedure due to the exuberant costs. In this way most of us will be able to afford health insurance and we will all get the care that we need when we need it.

Anyone hear about the privately-owned hospital in Florida who's doctors amputated the wrong limbs more than once?
Fear mongering is a sign of stupidity and ignorance.
Use your own brains. The government doesn't hire any more or less incompetant people than does the private sector. They're all drawn from the same pool.
Sheese!
Shut up, already.

Anyone hear about the privately-owned hospital in Florida who's doctors amputated the wrong limbs more than once?
Fear mongering is a sign of stupidity and ignorance.
Use your own brains. The government doesn't hire any more or less incompetant people than does the private sector. They're all drawn from the same pool.
Sheese!
Shut up, already.

testing one two three

I my self am a veteran. When I broke my leg in 3 paces many people told my to stay away from the VA. So I was treated by the "TOP Orthapedic Sugion in a the TOP Hospital" for my area. Three painfull years later I went to the VA complaining about the constant pain in my leg. The top orthapedic surgion there said. "They realy screwde you up. Your leg could have been set straighter, the screws in the nailcould have been positioned away from nerve bundles And on top of that the nail should have been removed after 6 months and they didn't put the end cap in so it will be slightly more difficult to remove." So now 2 yrs later pain free but with a crooked leg from the first sugery. WHO DO YOU THINK I'LL GOT NEXT TIME?????????

I my self am a veteran. When I broke my leg in 3 paces many people told my to stay away from the VA. So I was treated by the "TOP Orthapedic Sugion in a the TOP Hospital" for my area. Three painfull years later I went to the VA complaining about the constant pain in my leg. The top orthapedic surgion there said. "They realy screwde you up. Your leg could have been set straighter, the screws in the nailcould have been positioned away from nerve bundles And on top of that the nail should have been removed after 6 months and they didn't put the end cap in so it will be slightly more difficult to remove." So now 2 yrs later pain free but with a crooked leg from the first sugery. WHO DO YOU THINK I'LL GO TO NEXT TIME?????????

I my self am a veteran. When I broke my leg in 3 paces many people told my to stay away from the VA. So I was treated by the "TOP Orthapedic Sugion in a the TOP Hospital" for my area. Three painfull years later I went to the VA complaining about the constant pain in my leg. The top orthapedic surgion there said. "They realy screwde you up. Your leg could have been set straighter, the screws in the nailcould have been positioned away from nerve bundles And on top of that the nail should have been removed after 6 months and they didn't put the end cap in so it will be slightly more difficult to remove." So now 2 yrs later pain free but with a crooked leg from the first sugery. WHO DO YOU THINK I'LL GO TO NEXT TIME?????????

I really love the last comment. I served my country and have nothing negative to say about the care I received. I now pay $417 per month for pos "Private" health care. When I need to see a specialist I have to wait 6 months or more. This never happened when I was with Uncle Sam. When I saw the specialist I found the rudeness described above. I would give anything to have my government ran health care that I had in the Air Force. I found doctors could be doctors, not having to worry about insurance companies aproving or denying a claim.

My private health insurance pediatrition with my dr used to spend more time figuring out what the insurance company would aprove than he took to diagnos my daughters medical condition.

I pray for public health care, if anyone wants private they can always pay for it. There is nothing prohibiting this. Even in Canada if you want you can pay for private health care. Go right ahead.

Me;I want to see a dr, nurse, pa, ma or any actual health profesional without the oversite of an insurance company.

And if anyone wants to check their history welfare rolls increase under republicans and decrease under democrats.

For the naysayers. Imagine working your ass off every day until you retire. Thinking you have your finances under control, and money will not be a problem in the future.

Then out of no where, you or your spouse develops a life treating disease. The cost for treatments are so expensive, and you are forced to sell your extra vehicles, your house, and everything else worth money just to make ends meet.

There you go everyone. That is the scenario for 80% of all Americans. The health care alone sucks almost every american dry to the point that they are worth NOTHING before they die. No inheritance for the loved one, except nagging debt collectors.

Yeah baby! Lets continue this trend. Steal everything from the elderly so they can live another month to a few years. Lets continue taking advantage of the weak, so the doctors, hospitals, and nursing homes can take everything you have...and ever will have.

Don't trust the Government it is corrupt just like the Corporations, was at court today and saw a young man that had Mental Illness and the Judge sent him to Jail for ninety days but he should have received treatment for his illness, not jail, he was very nice and talkative to me, but I could tell he had Mental Illness, but why Jail and not help, he wanted a Job, but he could not find one and he had no Insurance, so now if you are born with a mental problem you go to jail, what is happening in our country? It is more than just healthcare

Don't trust the Government it is corrupt just like the Corporations, was at court today and saw a young man that had Mental Illness and the Judge sent him to Jail for ninety days but he should have received treatment for his illness, not jail, he was very nice and talkative to me, but I could tell he had Mental Illness, but why Jail and not help, he wanted a Job, but he could not find one and he had no Insurance, so now if you are born with a mental problem you go to jail? What is happening in our country? It is more than just healthcare.

I am a veteran who is using the V.A. for my medical now as I am retired and have only medicare which has a lot of out of pocket expenses.I listen to all of these horror stories and cannot relate to them as I have always been treated well at V.A. facilities and received good care. As for the mistakes made by the V.A.is no less or more than some of the prestigious hospitals in this country case in point there is a problem with a prestigious hospital where a nurse used drugs meant for surgery patients and spread Hepatitus c to an undetermind number of patients. Not even your high priced hospitals can guaranty your safety this happened recently in Denver Co.Thanks to the budget cuts to the V.A. we get less.Thanks to the Bush administration and his need to be a warmonger we the vets get less as happened after Vietnam.So don't put all the blame on the V. A. as there are many good people working there who do the best they can with what they have!Now if we could get Washington to help we would not be having all this negative feedback.Thank you V.A.keep it up with Obama there may be a light at the end of the tunnel.

This country should be ashamed of the sad state of our Veteran's Hospitals.My oldest son's father was a Viet Nam Vet (God rest his soul) who was given the run around every time he had an appt.He
had his discharge papers, but our "Great Govt."? could find none of his records for 30 years, all
the while he was trying to get compensation for the massive exposure of Agent Orange that he was subjected to in '67 and 68. Our son, who was born in 1971 has a mysterious bruising-like effect that
just appeared on his torso about 8 years ago.A team of 14 specialists conferred and checked our son out and not one of them had a clue what it is.
Needless to say my ex nor my son recieved a penny
in compensation. No, we DO NOT need govt.controll-
ed health care. Doctors are the 3rd leading cause
of death in this country. Maybe its the medical
schools run by big corporations and the big pharma
also run by big corp and our govt also run by the same? It's a scam and if people don't wake up before its too late...we'll really be screwed.

It is true that the VA has not done right by our vets but for the people that don't have any insurance/health care it will only take one sickness or operation for them to understand the need for some sort of health care. My mother doesn't have health care because of a pre existing condition - she had to have an operation and now gets to pay the $20,000 out of pocket so a plan that would allow pre-existing conditions would have helped.

My husband has been in the military since 1989. So over the years we have had our fair share of VA dr/dental appts and gov't sponsored insurance known as Tricare. Of course, it has not been all bad, but I can tell you from first hand experience and based on the stories of other military personnnel we've known over the years, that a "gov't health care system"....is just a disaster waiting to happen!

We recieved a letter less than 10 days before a major change in our dental coverage. The brochure that accompanied the letter states, "You must recieve the ACN from United Concordia before (before is in bold letters) making your own appointment and must provide the date/time of your appointment to United Concordia at email/telephone"....Anyone care to explain how you can provide the date/time of your appointment BEFORE you schedule the appointment in the first place?! This is the kind a BS ALL citizens will be forced to deal with - and let's face it, if the gov't treats it's own military personnel and their dependents this way, do you really believe they will treat civiliians any better?!

Furthermore, we recieved another letter just a few days ago stating that there are changes being made to our current medical coverage and due to these changes, prior medical conditions may, as a result become pre-existing conditions. My husband has served for almost 20 years...and this is how our gov't shows it's appreciation for it's Veterans and their families?

Many Desert Storm/Desert Shield Marines and Soldiers have been mis- and un- diagnosed of PTSD, and have flat out been denied reliable treatment options. There is plenty of eveidence of Gulf War Syndrome, even medically published research papers...but the gov't won't acknowledge the truth.

There are two main points here. THE GOV'T DOES NOT EVEN HAVE THE MORAL CAPABILITY TO MANAGE ITSELF, SO WHY SHOULD WE CITIZENS TRUST THEM WITH THEIR HEALTH?! And furthermore, THIS IS OUR AMERICA = WE HAVE THE FREEDOM TO MAKE CHOICES! IR'S NOT UP TO THE GOV'T and it's none of the their damn business TO MAKE HEALTH CARE DECISIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS!

I truely believe that this administration signals the begining of the end...of our once, great Nation! We must not allow the gov't to micro-manage every aspect of our lives! That is not how it was in the infancy of our country...and that is not the way it's supposed to be now!

a lot of the people that post on this site are mathmaticaly challenged.

please send this artical to my e-mail. Would like to send this to many people.
Thanks jeff

Um... People not in IT should not comment on the mistake. Let me show you a database statement.
"update VetIllness
SET Illness = 'Lou's Disease'
WHERE id = '1'"
All that has to happen is this person easily made a mistake with the "where" clause of the statement. That happens in IT. Some new guy sent a bad script and probably doesn't work there anymore. This is not a government efficiency issue. I've seen banks lose credit card numbers in security breaches and they're for profit. This was an IT mistake, not a political issue for people with no life.

Okay, mistakes happen. I am a female. The VA informed me that my prostate test came back fine. After I finished laughing, the nurse suddenly realized what kind of test they had apparently run on me and started laughing too. However, I do wonder what that test cost?

The government can't even keep straight or manage what they have now! Now the want to take over health insurance? .......This should be good!
We can't even trust them NOT to lie to us, now they want to handle life and death situations.
Everyone over 60 better cover their ass. I'm sure if you're 60+ that they will be willing to give you what ever your health requires.....Yep.
They'll stamp TDSYGTD on your papers. (THE DOC SAYS YOU'RE GOING TO DIE) Our government is nothing more than than a machine made up of politicians, lawyers....(SEE ASSHOLES) and big money people that want to own everything and everyone. You thought they were kidding when they said years ago that you'd be going to work, hand your paycheck to the government, go home broke.
What percentage of taxes are you up to now? I now believe that the biggest lie in the world has passed the ones about "the check is in...." and "I promise I won't......" and is now "Hi, I'm from the government and I'm here to help." When the government started, they fought to get us free from the things they do to us right now! Well, history repeats itself. How long since the last cival war? We are
A NATION OF SHEEP. Sound familiar? Just remember the people on the roofs of flooded houses holding up signs "Please, we are hungry, save us". Did those hot shots go to them and help. NOPE. The new word of the day is TGCKMA, you figure it out!

The government can't even keep straight or manage what they have now! Now the want to take over health insurance? .......This should be good!
We can't even trust them NOT to lie to us, now they want to handle life and death situations.
Everyone over 60 better cover their ass. I'm sure if you're 60+ that they will be willing to give you what ever your health requires.....Yep.
They'll stamp TDSYGTD on your papers. (THE DOC SAYS YOU'RE GOING TO DIE) Our government is nothing more than than a machine made up of politicians, lawyers....(SEE ASSHOLES) and big money people that want to own everything and everyone. You thought they were kidding when they said years ago that you'd be going to work, hand your paycheck to the government, go home broke.
What percentage of taxes are you up to now? I now believe that the biggest lie in the world has passed the ones about "the check is in...." and "I promise I won't......" and is now "Hi, I'm from the government and I'm here to help." When the government started, they fought to get us free from the things they do to us right now! Well, history repeats itself. How long since the last cival war? We are
A NATION OF SHEEP. Sound familiar? Just remember the people on the roofs of flooded houses holding up signs "Please, we are hungry, save us". Did those hot shots go to them and help. NOPE. The new word of the day is TGCKMA, you figure it out!

I have been reading many of the comments and I am shocked of how VA care has dropped. I worked for the VA for 13 years. 8 of those years was working in the clinics. There was compassion and the need to give proper care to our veterans. Unfortunately, I was forced out of the VA. The Union was nothing and is nothing. A federal employee cannot strike and that makes the union useless. The union wouldn't assist me even when choices offered were outside government regulations. I wasn't the only one and close to 200 people were subjected to this treatment and left the VA. The VA and the government were not prepared for the type and severity of injuries our Service People were receiving. When I worked for the VA this didn't happen. I left the VA in 1996.
As far as current thoughts about a National Healthcare plan, it won't work. The cost of medical care has to be tackled and brought under control before a National Healthcare plan comes to be. The government must identify and cut the waste in their programs, operate at a higher efficiency level and treat all equally.
ALso, keep in mind that President Obama wanted this Healthcare Plan passed immediately without consideration to operation and cost. No discussion of any part of the plan, just pass it now.
Let's get the costs under control and then talk about a healthcare plan that will serve everyone in the country.
I applaud our veterans and soldiers in uniform who have and will put their lives on the line for this country. I am a Vietnam Era veteran and I know how we were treated when we wore our uniform or even if you were signaled out as being military.
Listen to what ALL news agencies are reporting and keep your finger on the pulse. We are heading for a disaster with our current government and there isn't any end in sight. It may end when this country declares bankruptcy. We are citizens and we are Americans, we must fight for what is needed for the country and not follow the whims of our elected officials.

Obama has been trying to sell his program, in part based on the alleged "fact" that insurance companies are "evil" and screwing the public. Well. I am a retired veteran and have the half assed coverage offered by TRICARE, which failed to pay my healthcare costs as a matter of routine, so I bought a commercial healthcare plan to fill the gaps left by TRICARE. Now the government, through TRICaRE is trying to charge their costs to Aetna, so the government is trying to charge their responsibilities to a commercial insurance company paid for by me. So Obama, just who is screwing who here?

Thank you steph for your comments, everything you say is absolutely correct. I am a military retiree and was under Tricare. I said was. A year after I retired I was fortunate to find a job with the Federal government and enroll in its Federal Employment Health Benefits Program (FEHBP). This is a health program that's available for all federal civil service employees which includes all the branches of our government. Under Tricare I had to wait weeks to months to get an appointment to see a doctor. When you eventually get to see I doctor you're already too sick or whatever you had cleared itself. Several times I just went to the local emergency room to get care. As soon as I became elgible for the civil service health program I dropped Tricare like a hot potato. Under FEHBP I get a list of private insurance companies to choose from. I pay a monthly premium that is subsidized by the government (my employer). Now I get to see a doctor within days and if I'm really sick I go to their emergency service and get immediate attention and hospitalization if required. I have my own personal physician. This is a program everyone wants, you get to choose your own plan, and this is a program that is used by all your elected officials. This is program in which the government is a facilitator not a player, the private insurance companies are the players. The government is like any other employer looking at all the private insurance companies and negotiating rates with them and then allowing us to choose. Tricare type program is excately what you will get with a government run health program. Don't be foolish and think otherwise. Your elected officials know better because they have exempted themselves from participation. Why can't our elected officials offer everyone the same type program they themselves like.

i can't believe i just spent over two hours reading through these posts.

To all of those that want to steal my hard earned dollars to pay for your health care, I say NO.

and that's what your doing. Stealing from me because your lazy ass doesn't want to or can't find a job.

About three years ago, when I was medically discharged from the Army, the VA sent me a letter after having some routine tests that told me I had Sickle Cell Anemia.......When I called them to ask about the letter, I was assured that it was correct and that I needed to come in immediately to see my doctor. I was a bit skeptical, considering that I am caucasian (although it is possible). Sure enough, they were idiots.

I don't think this is funny at all. My uncle was a veteran that was diagnosed with this disease. He recently passed away. The disease is no joke and I think that the idiots who "accidently" sent that out, should be ashamed of themselves. Sorry to anyone out there reading this that has the disease. I wish you nothing but the best and I know the pain you're going through. R.I.P. Richard Dale Rumberger. I miss you and love you uncle.

I don't think this is funny at all. My uncle was a veteran that was diagnosed with this disease. He recently passed away. The disease is no joke and I think that the idiots who "accidently" sent that out, should be ashamed of themselves. Sorry to anyone out there reading this that has the disease. I wish you nothing but the best and I know the pain you're going through. R.I.P. Richard Dale Rumberger. I miss you and love you uncle.

I was in the army for 3 years. I never filed for VA services, and am glad I did not. A friend of mine who was also in the first Gulf War, has something horribly wrong with his lungs. I've seen him spit up black stuff. When he went to the VA Hospital, they told him he was crazy, put him on Pysch Meds, and kept him there for 2 years!

If the whole country has "State Run" healthcare, then we will end up like the british & canada who have bad teeth, and must wait 6-8 months for a surgery they needed tomorrow.

I voted for Obama, and I am a Moderate Democrat, however, I think this whole mess Bush & Cheney started, needs serious thought, and then REAL action.

I say, lets, scrap the entire process for everything. Phamacutical, corps. need to become Gov't run, then Doctors will stop getting kickbacks for prescribing meds to people, that they don't need.

Doctors who do malpractice need to pay off those messed up by their mistakes, instead of trying to cover it up.

It's only a start, but Gov't healthcare, isn't the way, unless it's modeled after Finland, or Holland or one of those other socialist countries that do almost everything the right way.

AMERICA MUST EVOLVE

We are still babies in the timeline, from Europe.
yes we are big & bad. Had we kept our nose out of places we didn't belong, those raghead nutjobs would not have started a holy war against our Govt

And all you idiots want OBAMACARE. How about Miami VA using same equipment on several veterans for colonoscopy and giving other veterans hepatitus or AIDS. Govt run health care means shortcuts and cost cutting. I bet Obama and congress don't have to get on the plan. If OBAMA wants us to have socialized medicine then let him and all the politicians use the same plan. They cut Social Security but you don't see them on it. Gays have rights but GOD is not allowed in our govt or our schools. This country was founded by people that wanted freedom of religion and to be a Nation under God. Now we aren't allowed to have God but we can carry guns have an "alternative lifestyle" being gay, get condoms in grade school to promote "safe Sex" and Give the country's highest civilian award equal to the MEDAL OF HONOR to people like Billie Jean King for her coming out of the closet, and giving the terriost "Shoe Bomber" a better prison with more freedom and other gay activists also got the medal. Wake up America, you have sons doing braver things like fighting the enemy and getting killed and they don't get THE MEDAL OF HONOR but Obama just gave it to Billie Jean King and a couple of others for just being Gay. You sorry asses, you voted for him. One white cop does his job and without any knowledge of the situation, your President calls the police department "STUPID" because his black friend got arrested and rightfully so. Regardless of the later apology, he, OBAMA already showed his racist side. Now we are many more trillions in debt and he says its Bush's fault. Yep keep up your excuses Democrats and by the end of his first term our country will be in debt by 2/3s of our entire national economy. Print paper with no gold standard and no one will accept our money. Obama is now giving up to 10 billion dollars to Brazil for exploring off shore oil drilling but he wont give our states that money. He is borrowing money from other countries to lend to foriegn countries for oil drilling and then the Taxpayers will pay to buy that oil. But you didn't get told that one of his cabinet members and closet friends just bought a controlling intrest in the company by switching his stocks to preferred stocks in the drilling company.

TO TAXPAYER OF 45 YEARS We are all tax payers and I want to remind your arrogant, selfish, middle class, ignorant freedom for granite, over paying for healthcare ass that you’re talking about the very people who keep your ass from being blown up. Our vets should get the very best, top of the line, cutting edge health care available, to them, their families, for life. What an incentive that would be to join the armed forces. I’d take that over a bonus any day. In fact that’s the reason I’m not in the armed forces. Money only goes so far; yeah it talks and now has eyes thanks to geico. Is it watching us or are we watching it? LESS TALKING MORE DOING. WE ALL NEED TO GET A LIFE.

Obama's 1st year deficit is greater than George Bush's 8 years combined deficits. This is the lowest public confidence in government since 1972. Now the current administration has cut any cost-of living increases in social security for 2 years. That means seniors will be receiving less social security, as the medicare premiums will continue to increase as well as inflation. Yet they have wasted billions of dollars on bail-outs, cash for clunkers, etc. which has done nothing for the economy. This administration also intends to reduce medicare benefits by 5 billion dollars - again on the back of seniors to pay for Obamacare.

Does anyone out there understand why the public forums on health care are flooded by professional signs? Organizations such as Acorn are getting billions of our tax dollars to support ludicrous
ideas by the democratic party. I don't want my tax dollars supporting a party that has no common sense. If the government is going to support democratic organizations, than we need to start an organization called "Tax Dollars for Common Sense" for example. I am tired of hearing the liberals apologizing for our country and continuously de-filing the Greatest Nation on Earth!