It often seems that if you want a quick indicator of how well a health care system or country treats its patients or citizens do a quick check of how well it treats its mental health patients. These two articles raise concerns for how the Veterans Hospitals are treating our returning veterans with to attaining appointments for mental health evaluations.
We must understand and fix the problems in the VA health system as quickly as possible, not just because as Americans we owe it to our patriotic veterans, who have served our country well, but also because the VA is the closest thing to a single payer health system we have, and some critics on the right are trying to exploit this crisis to call for privatizing it, or dumping it into the ACA which is a step in the wrong direction.
The system was working well but was not sufficiently expanded in anticipation of the huge increase of demand from returning soldiers from the 13 years of war in Iraq and Afhghanistan.
David Wood of the Huffington post writes a substantial original articles entitled VA Mental Health Care Delays, Staff Shortages, Plague Veterans.>/a>
WASHINGTON -- The problems veterans experience getting Veterans Affairs medical care also exist with VA mental health care, where veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and even those at high risk of suicide face long waits, according to VA staffers and internal investigations.
At some VA medical centers, qualified mental health professionals, nursing staff and bed space are in such short supply that some mental health patients are discharged early. "The turnaround on patients has gotten faster -- there's a lot of pressure to get them in and out and a lot of them aren't ready to leave," said a VA psychiatric nurse, who added that patients are sometimes discharged "AMA" -- against medical advice.
This senior nurse, a 23-year Army veteran who serves at a major VA medical center, said she had a mental health patient who was discharged without his medication, without a discharge plan and without transportation. "I just happened to find him sitting in our lobby with his stuff, with nowhere to go," she said. "I sat with him three or four hours until his mother came." ...During the past decade, the VA has struggled to meet the growing demands of veterans for mental health care, hiring hundreds of professionals, opening community clinics, expanding the veteran crisis hotline, and contracting for outside mental health care.
Wood tells us the VA has 1,563 mental health job openings, and the "VA staff are not encouraged to send distress signals about these shortages to VA headquarters in Washington to report shortages, but instead have tried to cover them up with a deceptive reporting system.
In fact, evidence is emerging that despite he "No Fear Act," to protect federal whistleblowers, VA employees who reported shortfall were ignored or even punished.
While the VA headquarters claims that 95% of patients referred for full mental health exams were seen in the required 14 days, (See next newspaper report), An inspector general's investigation found the truth of the matter the is no way Shinseki and national VA could know because clerks only reported when evaluations were completed, not when they were scheduled. Manipulating reporting forms to hide bad data is a high art form as described in the book "Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics.
The inspector general found the truth was that "fewer than half of veterans needing a full mental health exam got one within 14 days; the rest waited about 50 days." 22 vets commit suicide every day, and this rate is increasing.
Barini Chakraborty of Fox News, reports (don't go there, just glance at what they are reporting about this), in 'Why didn't they prepare?' Hundreds of VA vacancies, as returning vets strain system
Barnini Chakraborty
A search ... showed more than 1,080 current vacancies in health-related fields at the VA. ... A search of the words “VA” and “physician” yielded 167 jobs openings with top-range salaries of roughly $295,000 a year. There are 18 openings alone in the Phoenix VA Health Care System – the same one facing allegations that up to 40 people died while waiting for treatment. ...
“We go into Afghanistan, leave Afghanistan for Iraq with unfinished business in Afghanistan,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday, suggesting these problems were years in the making. “Ten years later, we have all of these additional veterans -- in the past five years, two million more veterans needing benefits from the VA. That's a huge, huge increase.”
Pete Hegseth, CEO of Concerned Veterans for America, questioned why the department didn't better prepare for the returning veterans by staffing up. ... "They knew there were going to be more veterans who needed care. Why didn't they prepare?"
Some have accused administrators of cooking the books and creating an environment that encouraged VA staff to manipulate wait times of veterans who need medical or mental health care. Others, though, have called the scandal political theater and say for the most part, the VA medical system works.
A surprisingly balanced last line from Fox News.
We need to find out what if preventing the addition of these extra health care professionals. Is this just normal turnover for an organization this large? Like 5% unemployment reflects the normal job turnover of people moving, and changing jobs? Have we failed to allocated sufficient additional funds to expand the VA?
If so now would be the time to strike after we just read reports a few days ago of the House Republicans adding back into the defense budget money for obsolete weapon systems such as the U2, AWAC, that the Pentagon requested be cut so it could enhance troop benefits and housing.
11:07 AM PT: My original goal this morning was to find evidence that congressional Republicans, or even some Democrats voted against any proposals to expand funding for the VA or other veterans benefits in the last 13 years and then put their name up against those that voted for this obscene pork barrel extravaganza where the Pentagon proposed cutting obsolete and worthless weapons systems so it could use the money for troop benefits such as housing - which by the way might improve mental health issues.
Congress refused and put all the money back so it would be spend in the congressional districts to their campaign donors.
One the U-2s is a 1950 technology now obsolete and replaced with safer unmanned drone surveillance.
So any Congresscritter whose name is on both lists can be crucified.
Please help.
House defies Pentagon and White House veto threat and passes $601 billion defense budget
Donna Cassata of ABC News reports that the House Defies Pentagon on Defense Spending.
The House defied the Pentagon on Thursday, overwhelmingly backing a $601 billion defense authorization bill that saves the Cold War-era U-2 spy plane, military bases and Navy cruisers despite warnings that it will undercut military readiness.
In addition to the fact that the House ignored the Pentagon's proposed elimination of obsolete weapons systems to pay for improved troop benefits, the White House likely objected to the House's provision authorizing the military to train and equip Syrian rebels loyal to President Bashar Assad.
The Pentagon wanted to drop the obsolete U-2, and A-10, cut back on AWACs, and take 11 Navy cruisers out of normal rotation for modernization so it could increase spending on health care and housing for troops, but this would have come at the expense of arms manufacturers in congressional districts, one thing that both parties strongly support. The House put all of the unneeded and unwanted weapons back in the budget in an obscene payola to arms dealers in their districts.
The total and complete hypocrisy of both parties was on display as the house rejected the Pentagon's request to cut obsolete weapons systems and rationalize Navy ship rotations in order to improve troop benefits so that congress critters could preserve defense spending to defense contracters in their districts - one of the few issues Republicans and Democrats can agree on. While at the same time we are slashing spending on social programs and refusing to close loopholes on corporate taxes and those fore the very rich. This one reason congressional approval is somewhere ariund 11%.
What a disgusting shame.
The only possible good that come from this travesty would be if, right now, every kog, any journalist, and every American, will take an oath to ourselves, that if any politician should ever again make any claim to be concerned about balanced budgets, fiscal responsibility or any other nonsense of the sort they keep spouting off about, and they then should suggest any further cuts should be made made to social programs and safety nets rather than to the bloated military budgets stuffed with worthless crap like this for their campaign contributors, instead of closing tax loopholes for the rich and corporations, you will burst out laughing, saying "you are joking right?" And hand them this article which you will keep a laminated copy of in your purse or wallet at all times.
11:22 AM PT: When need to use this opportunity to use the threat of crucifixion to get the GOP to agree to a 50% increase in VA funding with a revenue increase (closed tax loopholes for the rich.)
The DNC and DNCC should make an TV add aimed at all Republican who voted for this defense pork budget, but voted against any bill proposing to expand the VA's budget in the last 13 years to resign in shame. (Rhetorical hyperbole alert! But for a good cuase folks, for a good cuase! It's good to keep a few old viscous dogs-of-war like me around so we can pee on the Republican's legs when you need us. Woof, woof!)
11:26 AM PT: When President Obama, Rep, Nancy Pelosi, or Sen. Harry Reid say "Release the HoundDog, and Democratic Dogs-of-War!" we come running.
Woof, woof! Grrrrrr!
11:41 AM PT: For those that might not realize the full dramatic import of saying "Release the Democratic Dogs-of-War!" I offer this online tutorial.
Clash of the Titans Release The Kraken [HD]
Two things I have to congratulate us Democrats on are, in addition to our broad knowledge of cultural allusions, we are able to maintain a healthy sense of humor even while riled up in a pique of indignation! Well, I'm not really riled up yet, until I find a good list of VA funding expansion bills the GOP has voted against, but I warming up - like "pre-indignation and rage stretching exercises." (Humor alert, but a dark foreboding kind of humor laced with undertones of trouble ahead.)
11:52 AM PT: I didn't even have to go back 3 months to find the Republicans voting to shoot down Democratic proposals to approve more money for veterans, including the VA.
Rebecca Kaplan Veterans' benefits bill blocked in Senate
A $21 billion bill to greatly expand aid and other programs to veterans went down in the Senate Thursday, falling victim to election year fights over spending and how much power the minority party should have.
"I personally, I have to say this honestly, have a hard time understanding how anyone could vote for tax breaks for billionaires, for millionaires, for large corporations and then say we don't have the resources to protect our veterans," said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the measure's chief author, according to the Associated Press
The bill would have expanded benefits and services to veterans, including increasing eligibility for Department of Veterans Affairs health care, opening new facilities, restoring full cost-of-living increases to military retiree pensions, expanding education programs and even offering reproductive treatment and adoption assistance for severely wounded veterans, among other things.
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6:37 PM PT: LilithGardener writes Put Vets Ahead of Old Jets!LilithGardener
Republicans were willing to spend trillions of dollars on wars but not on expanding VA