Now you're just embarrassing yourself, AM. You post links to stories about a medical facility that was placed on the base closure list years ago. It only became important and needed again after your hero went on his cowboy rampage. Naturally Walter Reed was in poor repair because of neglect, since it was scheduled to close there was no need to put money into it.

Speaking of making an ass out of yourself, I knew it was your husband you were referencing--I remember you posting about it when it was happening. But why blame the entire VA medical system for something one doctor did? Were you not advised of the risks before the procedure? I know I always am, and if I choose to proceed, I have accepted the risks. It's all part of that "taking responsibility" thing you R's are always preaching.

And as far as:
I believe I'll just take the advice of your tagline.

Sadly, you've become a 19%er.

GH, I think you've taken this to a personal level that you shouldn't have, but when I consider the source, I guess it's to be expected.

I think the only ASS here is you buddy.

I've taken this to a personal level??

I'm really disappointed in what you've become these last two years, AM.

Not that I believe my opinion holds any weight here...

I think it was in 2002 when I read an article in The Wall Street Journal (of all places) about a boy who was playing basketball with a pencil in the pocket of his shirt. He was shoved down hard and the pencil punctured his heart. It was a freak accident. When he was taken to the hosp the doc he saw was a stem cell researcher. After removing the pencil he injected stem cells and it repaired the boy’s heart. The doc lost his license & ended up facing criminal charges. That is when I first heard of stem cells. Later learned that they have been known about for sometime & are what bone marrow transplants are based on. They are getting good results with the research but are still animal testing in US. They are finding that they can grow heart muscle & new arteries, blood cells for leukemia, regenerating pancreases & are growing connections to help the paralyzed.

Our medical is barbaric although we no longer douse people in whiskey to cut off limbs or use leaches, we are not as advanced as believed. We understand infection control much better but still I feel leery about germs anytime I go to the hospital to visit. Prevention is our best bet because once you get sick they fill you with drugs that cause other problems.

I do have a personal story about my cousin who was denied much need med care thru her insurance as well as a family member who were denied treatment from VA and a brother who had a poor surgery when in the Navy.

So,I don’t know the answer but I think if we can get all covered prices will go down, when stem cell gets approved medicine will get out of the dark ages. Thinking about ins as gov run is scary but I do want them to legislate it better.

Actually, I've not changed at all. It's you who have become the flip flopper who once supported McCain and now attack him with outright lies.

There is AMPLE evidence that the military medical care you THINK is so superior, isn't and hasn't been for the 32 years I've been covered. Here, have a little MORE proof that you're personal attack is uncalled for. The military medical care problems go back LONG before the two wars we're currently engaged in.

---------------

Unnecessary Danger: Military Medicine
A Question Of Care: Military Malpractice?
Study: Military mental health system poor
Military Doctors Withholding Treatment from Soldiers with Mental Health Problems
'It Is Just Not Walter Reed'

If a healthcare system has/creates this many problems, it shouldn't be held up as an example of what the general public could/should receive.

From the first link...

Whew! Here's an "interesting" article by a doctor in my local community regarding what physicians face regarding insurance and patient care:

http://www.newsreview.com/chico/Content?oid=646939

AM, don't you think the military medical system is tracked and reported on alot more closely then the public health care system? Think a public hospital is going to willingly make public it's mistakes?

I agree with GH, you're starting to lean so far right you are going to fall down. Harder to see when you're only using the right eye.

The only reason most of what's recently been revealed has seen the light of day is because of the wars and so many returning vets families are complaining, loudly.

Yeah but I attribute that to the overall lack of planning in the "rush to war".

The problems with military medical treatment has been there all along, as the first link explained. There are a variety of reasons for it. Things like good officers don't necessarily make good doctors and good military doctors don't stay after their committments are fulfilled, mostly because they know what the right way to practice medicine is, and are prevented from doing so. Career civilian support are often held less accountable than the doctors and treat the docs like transient personel with no authority over them.

I keep waiting for them to introduce conveyor belts to move us through the system faster.

The problems with care-for-profit treatment has been there all along, too. Just a couple of weeks ago an 18 year old woman died from one of the most routine surgeries in the nation--breast augmentation. Last weekend there was a large article in the local paper about medication mistakes to infants; 1 out of 15 kids are harmed by medicine mix ups in hospitals. Dana Carvey's surgeon bypassed the wrong artery in his heart.

The National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine estimates as many as "98,000 Americans die each year not from the medical conditions they checked in with, but from preventable medical errors."

But my original point remains; the statistics do not support the belief that socialized medical care is substandard, just as the statistics and empirical evidence refutes the opinion that VA care is substandard as compared to for-profit medical care.


By the way:

Can you point out those outright lies?

On another board, but hey, you KNEW that.

Hey everybody, GH thinks John McCain caused the USS Forrestal tragedy!

War AND politics are tragedies...

So, McCain touched off that missile? And that's why he spent all those years at the Hanoi Hilton?

No. He went to Hanoi Hilton to assist the North Vietnamese to defeat the US, according to the whacko's and GH, who has basically accused McCain of being a war criminal.

As a disabled veteran who uses the facilities at American Lake,I have recieved very good treatment there and am very confident in the staff I have dealt with.Every doctor has been proffessional and actually has taken the time to make me feel that my time and concerns are being addressed . I know all the horror storys must have some merit, but have to ask myself if it is more in the line of a persons expectations being more than what is there to offer. I was told once that we all have greater opinions of our selves than is realistic. Put your finger in a glass of water, pull it out and see how long the hole lasts.I have also recieved care at civilian facilities and have had the isolated occasion to recieve what I deemed to be subpar care. It does not mean the system is broken, just that particular day.
I fail to see where it is writen that all people are ENTITLED to adequate health care. Some things you should have to earn and be willing to sacrifice to attain if that is what you desire. I honestly believe it is all about choices and what is truely important to you. I used to read articles by Bruce Williams (a financial "advisor") often his answer to the people who were in deep debt was..
1.How many hours a day do you work now?
2. Do you smoke,drink,etc.?
Then he would ask if they had thought about a 2nd job to get caught up,even if it was part time. You can change your situation if you want to and are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to do it.

While I am on my rant, can someone please explain to me why it is so much more patriotic to have been a POW than to have just served in the armed forces. I know it will rile some of the lemmings, but what is so heroic about having been captured? I am not belittling anyone who has had to endure this situation. I had an uncle who was shot down over Germany (tail gunner) and survived in a POW camp. I talked to him and his opinion was the heroes were the ones who didn't make it back home alive. God Bless John Mccain and all those who were POW's ,but they are not heroes in my book.Hollywood has given us this tainted opinion of what a true hero is much to the diservice of the real heroes.

My father in law passed away at American Lake. A retired Major and combat veteran of three wars. I visited many times and felt his care was pretty good versus what you would have seen in civilian facilities unless you are rich.

"I fail to see where it is writen that all people are ENTITLED to adequate health care."

You don't think all children in the US should be entitled to health care? The most common argument why countries with a national health care system have better over all health than the US is the early preventative care that begins in childhood. And, even here in the US, there is growing opinion that preventative care lowers over all costs in the long run.

It's always that ounce of prevention isn't it?

My personal gripe is a classic example of insurance BS. I have a cracked molar and some bone loss at that tooth. The dentist will not crown the tooth until a periodontist does some grafting/seeding of bone. My company pays 100% for dental, but the insurance considers the bone regrowth "elective" and won't cover the procedure - my cost = $800 to $1000. That's a lot of quality fishing dollars. So the insurance company would rather that I lost the tooth or live in continued discomfort. Fargin iceholes!!! It's all about the money.....

Fishing versus a tooth....tie the tooth to your downrigger and yank the bastard.

Yes, but will the tooth catch fish? Remember no gold crown on it yet as an attractor!