Honestly -

March 5 (Bloomberg) -- The shortcomings in outpatient treatment that were exposed at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington exist throughout the military health-care system, Representative John Tierney said today during a hearing at the center.

Shame on me for quoting Bloomberg. But honestly.

What was your first clue?

What makes you think care under the VA system - which is a 'benefit', not insurance and they'll be very quick to tell you that at the door - would be much better than the care anyone gets walking into a facility today?

You've been the ER lately - within two years or less. Everyone does - tell me.

How long did you have to wait? Six hours? Longer?

Left AMA before you got care? Sure you did. You probably went home, treated it yourself and scheduled an office visit. You could. Faster.

Get hit with a huge bill, even if you did get seen? Sure you did. Particularly if you did not have insurance, and were you referred out perhaps at the same time to the county facility? Oh, and if you think the VA is short on funds and staff, you ought to try the tax-paid-for facilities that are there to act as the safety net.

We're back to the days before hospitals were considered the place one went by choice to get well.

MRSA? Ever heard of it? No? Go google it. Scared now? Entirely facility born, bred and maintained.

Talk about your elephant in the living room.

Hey. Remember all those wonderful trauma centers? Know where your nearest one is? Or if you even HAVE one? (You in Florida? No. You don't have one. Anywhere. Disney World and everything, and not ONE trauma center in the whole state.)

You get hit on the I15 on the California side of the border between Nevada and California, on your way to Las Vegas. You'll be airlifted to Loma Linda...that's just South and East of San Bernardino.

Hope the helicopter don't crash. Of course, that's after a unit finds you, which could be up to two hours.

Pro-life, my butt.

You know, I think all of this brougha is very nice, but you know something? This isn't symptomatic of the military insofar as our whole healthcare system has been underfunded to the point of failure for decades.

I doubt Walter Reed has to meet JCAHO requirements, being a military facility - that whole 'benefit' thing again, they don't bill Medicare.

This isn't even as easy as taking candy from babies. You're sick and disabled? You're invisible. Oh, until someone makes a news story over it - everyone clucks a bit, people get fired and maybe...maybe someone gets their wrists slapped.

When...WHEN...are we going to ever ACKNOWLEDGE THIS IS A PROBLEM? Change? Oh, that's what you need for the soda machine downstairs.

rrrrr.

Honestly -

March 5 (Bloomberg) -- The shortcomings in outpatient treatment that were exposed at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington exist throughout the military health-care system, Representative John Tierney said today during a hearing at the center.

Shame on me for quoting Bloomberg. But honestly.

What was your first clue?

What makes you think care under the VA system - which is a 'benefit', not insurance and they'll be very quick to tell you that at the door - would be much better than the care anyone gets walking into a facility today?

You've been the ER lately - within two years or less. Everyone does - tell me.

How long did you have to wait? Six hours? Longer?

Left AMA before you got care? Sure you did. You probably went home, treated it yourself and scheduled an office visit. You could. Faster.

Get hit with a huge bill, even if you did get seen? Sure you did. Particularly if you did not have insurance, and were you referred out perhaps at the same time to the county facility? Oh, and if you think the VA is short on funds and staff, you ought to try the tax-paid-for facilities that are there to act as the safety net.

We're back to the days before hospitals were considered the place one went by choice to get well.

MRSA? Ever heard of it? No? Go google it. Scared now? Entirely facility born, bred and maintained.

Talk about your elephant in the living room.

Hey. Remember all those wonderful trauma centers? Know where your nearest one is? Or if you even HAVE one? (You in Florida? No. You don't have one. Anywhere. Disney World and everything, and not ONE trauma center in the whole state.)

You get hit on the I15 on the California side of the border between Nevada and California, on your way to Las Vegas. You'll be airlifted to Loma Linda...that's just South and East of San Bernardino.

Hope the helicopter don't crash. Of course, that's after a unit finds you, which could be up to two hours.

Pro-life, my butt.

You know, I think all of this brougha is very nice, but you know something? This isn't symptomatic of the military insofar as our whole healthcare system has been underfunded to the point of failure for decades.

I doubt Walter Reed has to meet JCAHO requirements, being a military facility - that whole 'benefit' thing again, they don't bill Medicare.

This isn't even as easy as taking candy from babies. You're sick and disabled? You're invisible. Oh, until someone makes a news story over it - everyone clucks a bit, people get fired and maybe...maybe someone gets their wrists slapped.

When...WHEN...are we going to ever ACKNOWLEDGE THIS IS A PROBLEM? Change? Oh, that's what you need for the soda machine downstairs.

rrrrr.

Honestly -

March 5 (Bloomberg) -- The shortcomings in outpatient treatment that were exposed at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington exist throughout the military health-care system, Representative John Tierney said today during a hearing at the center.

Shame on me for quoting Bloomberg. But honestly.

What was your first clue?

What makes you think care under the VA system - which is a 'benefit', not insurance and they'll be very quick to tell you that at the door - would be much better than the care anyone gets walking into a facility today?

You've been the ER lately - within two years or less. Everyone does - tell me.

How long did you have to wait? Six hours? Longer?

Left AMA before you got care? Sure you did. You probably went home, treated it yourself and scheduled an office visit. You could. Faster.

Get hit with a huge bill, even if you did get seen? Sure you did. Particularly if you did not have insurance, and were you referred out perhaps at the same time to the county facility? Oh, and if you think the VA is short on funds and staff, you ought to try the tax-paid-for facilities that are there to act as the safety net.

We're back to the days before hospitals were considered the place one went by choice to get well.

MRSA? Ever heard of it? No? Go google it. Scared now? Entirely facility born, bred and maintained.

Talk about your elephant in the living room.

Hey. Remember all those wonderful trauma centers? Know where your nearest one is? Or if you even HAVE one? (You in Florida? No. You don't have one. Anywhere. Disney World and everything, and not ONE trauma center in the whole state.)

You get hit on the I15 on the California side of the border between Nevada and California, on your way to Las Vegas. You'll be airlifted to Loma Linda...that's just South and East of San Bernardino.

Hope the helicopter don't crash. Of course, that's after a unit finds you, which could be up to two hours.

Pro-life, my butt.

You know, I think all of this brougha is very nice, but you know something? This isn't symptomatic of the military insofar as our whole healthcare system has been underfunded to the point of failure for decades.

I doubt Walter Reed has to meet JCAHO requirements, being a military facility - that whole 'benefit' thing again, they don't bill Medicare.

This isn't even as easy as taking candy from babies. You're sick and disabled? You're invisible. Oh, until someone makes a news story over it - everyone clucks a bit, people get fired and maybe...maybe someone gets their wrists slapped.

When...WHEN...are we going to ever ACKNOWLEDGE THIS IS A PROBLEM? Change? Oh, that's what you need for the soda machine downstairs.

rrrrr.