Jump to content


Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez


Recommended Posts

Sorry this is a little late, but it still irks me..

 

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it," Ocasio-Cortez, 29, said, insisting the VA provides "some of the highest quality" healthcare for veterans. She said people who advocate for a privatized VA are only trying to fix it in favor of pharmaceutical companies.

 

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/ocasio-cortez-defends-va-healthcare-to-veterans-if-it-aint-broke-dont-fix-it

  • Plus1 1
Link to comment

She's wrong and she's right:

 

1 - she's wrong, the VA is broken. In some areas the care is good and reasonably quick, but as a whole it's a failing system and we owe our veterans far better than this mess. It's been known to be a troubled agency for more than 50 years. No president/congress has fixed it, and with this attitude, it won't get fixed soon.

 

2 - she's right in that the solution is not to privatize it. Healthcare should not be a for-profit venture, and the care we provide our veterans will get far worse if they're some company's money-maker. 

 

 

  • Plus1 2
Link to comment
1 hour ago, knapplc said:

She's wrong and she's right:

 

1 - she's wrong, the VA is broken. In some areas the care is good and reasonably quick, but as a whole it's a failing system and we owe our veterans far better than this mess. It's been known to be a troubled agency for more than 50 years. No president/congress has fixed it, and with this attitude, it won't get fixed soon.

 

2 - she's right in that the solution is not to privatize it. Healthcare should not be a for-profit venture, and the care we provide our veterans will get far worse if they're some company's money-maker. 

A VA reform bill got passed last year with bipartisan support.

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/389072-senate-sends-major-va-reform-bill-to-trumps-desk

Link to comment
34 minutes ago, RedDenver said:

A VA reform bill got passed last year with bipartisan support.

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/389072-senate-sends-major-va-reform-bill-to-trumps-desk

 

They passed one in 2018.

 

They passed one in 2017.

 

They passed one in 2016.

 

They pass legislation to "fix" the VA all the time. But nothing actually happens. And we've had that problem for several decades.

 

 

 

  • Thanks 2
Link to comment

23 minutes ago, knapplc said:

 

They passed one in 2018.

 

They passed one in 2017.

 

They passed one in 2016.

 

They pass legislation to "fix" the VA all the time. But nothing actually happens. And we've had that problem for several decades.

Which problems aren't getting fixed?

 

I know quite a few veterans that use the VA (I do not use the VA myself), and they've all said it's gotten much better the last few years. That's obviously just anecdotal, so I'm curious what you think are the issues and what needs to get done about them. I haven't been closely following the changes at the VA.

Link to comment
19 minutes ago, RedDenver said:

Which problems aren't getting fixed?

 

I know quite a few veterans that use the VA (I do not use the VA myself), and they've all said it's gotten much better the last few years. That's obviously just anecdotal, so I'm curious what you think are the issues and what needs to get done about them. I haven't been closely following the changes at the VA.

 

Local VA healthcare providers are hit and miss. Some regions, like Omaha/Lincoln, have pretty good healthcare.

 

Others don't.

 

And there have been scandals.

 

And veterans have been put at risk.

 

And the antiquated data management system is still being fixed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment

I personally don't use the VA as they schedule 3-6 months out in my neck of the woods and my private insurance gets me in normally in less than a week and 10 times better doctors who actually listen to their patients.  I will admit, i'm a bit bias as when my dad, a Vietnam era Force Recon Marine was basically thrown on the back burner for care and eventually was allowed to see his specialist, only problem, he passed a month before he was allowed to see said specialist due to his condition.  He went 4 months without any care from the VA because we couldn't get him scheduled.  I have ongoing knee issues thanks to my time in the USMC, every time I need the knee drained it was taking 4-6 months to get an appointment to have them check the knee, then another 3-4 months to actually have it drained.  I haven't been to the VA in the last 3 years when my private insurance covers it within a 2 week period, from initial doctor to confirm it needs a specialist to the draining(or another scoping last time).  We built a large shiny new VA hospital in Vegas, brought in lots of doctors, everything is just as bad as it was.

Link to comment
4 hours ago, knapplc said:

 

They passed one in 2018.

 

They passed one in 2017.

 

They passed one in 2016.

 

They pass legislation to "fix" the VA all the time. But nothing actually happens. And we've had that problem for several decades.

 

 

 

 

What happens is that the money earmarked for these 'fixes' gets used elsewhere in some other pet projects (like the most recent tax cuts), and these bills mostly become unfunded mandates that are eventually ignored. 

 

The VA needs to get funding so they can fix what is broken, hire more doctors and staff to reduce waiting time, and get rid of a lot of the ridiculous bureaucracy that causes problems in the first place. For example, one of my veteran friends had to see someone in the VA four times over before he could officially get the percentage of disability everyone knew he had from the onset (which impacted his retirement pay). That's two or three visits too many, and it wastes time and resources and creates the scheduling nightmares that take place. 

 

Hell, why not make some sort of medical service corps that serves VA hospitals and rural communities struggling to bring in or keep trained doctors and nurses--this way, you have a cadre of regional doctors making trips to rural areas to assist in treatment, but if they're needed to shore up the VA and help keep appointments flowing, they get brought back in for a spell. Allow recent medial graduates the opportunity to serve in this capacity for four years at adequate pay, and their school debt is forgiven by the government. 

 

That, or if you're a former military medic, doctor, or nurse, you can continue service stateside in the VA and in rural areas to contribute towards years of service. (something like this may already be in play at the VA, not sure). 

 

5 hours ago, Nebfanatic said:

You know, you could have made this a thread about fixing the VA considering Cortez isn't the only one to get upset at concerning this issue. What have other members of Congress done? 

 

Because character assassination pays dividends in future discussions of projects or ideas the assassinated character brings up, like the New Green Deal. It's easier to paint her as a 'crazy broad' than it is to break down her plans and intelligently discuss their benefits or flaws.

 

 

 

  • Plus1 2
Link to comment
6 hours ago, knapplc said:

 

Local VA healthcare providers are hit and miss. Some regions, like Omaha/Lincoln, have pretty good healthcare.

 

Others don't.

 

And there have been scandals.

 

And veterans have been put at risk.

 

And the antiquated data management system is still being fixed.

Thanks for the links, but I'm not sure they support the conclusion that the VA isn't being fixed. The last link is the only one that supports your stance, but even that one is about a program that's being implemented, so no one knows if it'll succeed or fail yet.

Link to comment

On 5/21/2019 at 8:03 AM, Nebfanatic said:

You know, you could have made this a thread about fixing the VA considering Cortez isn't the only one to get upset at concerning this issue. What have other members of Congress done? 

I see no problem with him pointing out AOC's comments.  We all do it all the time with other government officials on other issues.  Why have kid gloves with her?

 

As for the VA, it's both good and bad.  I honestly don't see why 90% of the care given isn't handled in a medicare type system where veterans can go to any provider and get care with the government paying for it.  That seems like a good combination.  I know people who have to travel farther to get care at a facility that isn't as good as the ones they are passing along the way.

  • Plus1 2
Link to comment
4 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

I see no problem with him pointing out AOC's comments.  We all do it all the time with other government officials on other issues.  Why have kid gloves with her?

 

As for the VA, it's both good and bad.  I honestly don't see why 90% of the care given isn't handled in a medicare type system where veterans can go to any provider and get care with the government paying for it.  That seems like a good combination.  I know people who have to travel farther to get care at a facility that isn't as good as the ones they are passing along the way.

Its fine to bring up AOCs comments, I just don't see the need for the thread title to be her name if we want the conversation to be about the VA. 

  • Plus1 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
4 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

I see no problem with him pointing out AOC's comments.  We all do it all the time with other government officials on other issues.  Why have kid gloves with her?

 

As for the VA, it's both good and bad.  I honestly don't see why 90% of the care given isn't handled in a medicare type system where veterans can go to any provider and get care with the government paying for it.  That seems like a good combination.  I know people who have to travel farther to get care at a facility that isn't as good as the ones they are passing along the way.

Medicare-for-All would allow everyone including our veterans to have healthcare almost anywhere. It would also allow the VA to focus on the specific needs of veterans that aren't as common in the general population (like PTSD).

  • Plus1 5
Link to comment
22 minutes ago, Nebfanatic said:

Its fine to bring up AOCs comments, I just don't see the need for the thread title to be her name if we want the conversation to be about the VA. 

I see no problem with the title when the quote in the OP is from her.

 

22 minutes ago, RedDenver said:

Medicare-for-All would allow everyone including our veterans to have healthcare almost anywhere. It would also allow the VA to focus on the specific needs of veterans that aren't as common in the general population (like PTSD).

I've said that I'm more than willing to look honestly at Medicare for all.  

 

And, yes, I fully agree that we need a certain level of VA for specific veteran specific issues like PTSD.  But, a veteran shouldn't have to drive past a very good hospital that has specialists in diabetes to drive two more hours to the VA.

Link to comment
11 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

I see no problem with the title when the quote in the OP is from her.

 

 

Except it doesn't hit on the main theme of the topic at all. Why not 'AOCs thoughts of the VA' or anything referring to the VA? Do we have a thread titled 'Donald Trump'? In my opinion the title is just trying to take a shot instead of direct our attention to the actual issue. Looking at the other thread started by this poster it becomes clear their motive isn't to start legitimate discussion about complex topics like the VA.

  • Plus1 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...