Doctor Fate wrote:That said, Palin is two slices of bread short of a sandwich.

bbauska wrote:

Doctor Fate wrote:That said, Palin is two slices of bread short of a sandwich.

That is generous. I see her as having the appearance of a sandwich with nothing inside. She is an empty pants suit.

freeman3 wrote:Well, veterans are more positive on the VA than conservative critics and do not like privatization as conservatives predictably espouse.
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/what-vet ... 34462.html

And it hasn't been Obama who want to cut back veterans benefits-- it 's been Republicans.
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/24048 ... eto-threat

Passed with bipartisan support by the House Appropriations Committee last week, the bill provides a 5.6 percent increase for the VA over 2015 levels, but falls more than $1 billion shy of the figure President Obama had included in his 2016 budget request.

Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) hailed the measure as "a balanced, thorough bill that will help improve the quality of life … [and] address the current and future needs of our veterans."

The Democratic leaders see it differently, accusing the Republicans of adhering to spending levels dictated by the "incoherent" sequester law at the expense of veterans.

http://www.politicususa.com/2015/04/29/obama-stands-veterans-vowing-veto-gop-bill-cut-benefits-70000-vets.html

Veteran homelessness, disability claim processing time, and unemployment have all dramatically improved under Obama . The VA has added 1,400 doctors in the last 18 months to reduce appointment backlogs. But let's not let facts get in the way.
https://www.rt.com/usa/321647-obama-vet ... -promises/

The biggest stumbling block for veterans has been in their health care, due to massive backlogs in disability and pension claims. Currently there are about 76,000 claims that have been pending for more than 125 days, a drop from a high of more than 611,000 in March 2013. During that same period, though, the appeals caseload has risen steadily by almost 75,000 claims, the Military Times reported.

The issue came to light last May thanks to allegations from multiple whistleblowers that veteran’s hospitals systematically manipulate waiting lists, resulting in the deaths of dozens of patients.

(CNN)Appointment wait times at the Department of Veterans Affairs are not getting better.

Despite billions of extra dollars poured into the agency in the last year and numerous reforms intended to improve veterans' access to care, whistleblowers and internal documents obtained by CNN reveal some VA facilities continue to grapple with appointment wait times of months or more.

Even at the Phoenix VA medical center, where CNN learned last year "secret" appointment lists were hiding how veterans were dying waiting for care, sources say complicated wait-time calculations obscure ongoing appointment delays.

"The reality is veterans are waiting months -- three, six months at a time, sometimes more -- for care at the Phoenix VA," said one source in Phoenix who agreed to speak to CNN anonymously because of fears of retaliation.

Witnesses: VA whistleblowers still face retaliation

The source said this includes veterans waiting for potentially critical health procedures, such as colonoscopies, and other categories of specialty care that require timely attention.

In August, more than 8,000 requests for care had wait times longer than 90 days at the Phoenix VA, according to documents obtained by CNN, but whistleblowers say delays like these are not accurately reflected in public data because of changes in the VA's method of measuring wait times.

"The VA central office enables an official line that's not consistent with reality," the source in Phoenix said.

Additional VA documents show ongoing delays in care are not limited to Phoenix.

An internal VA draft memo from August warns, "Currently wait times are increasing significantly," referring to an overall increase of appointments with delays.

danivon wrote:OK, so there are waiting lists at the VA that exceed 31 days, and internal attempts to cover up. Not sure that Obama is directly responsible for all of that, but your position is the Eisenhower "buck stops"

Are these worse or better than before 2009?

And has Congress increased the VA budget as requested by the Executive?

danivon wrote:OK, so there are waiting lists at the VA that exceed 31 days, and internal attempts to cover up. Not sure that Obama is directly responsible for all of that, but your position is the Eisenhower "buck stops"

Are these worse or better than before 2009?

And has Congress increased the VA budget as requested by the Executive?

Ray Jay wrote:

danivon wrote:OK, so there are waiting lists at the VA that exceed 31 days, and internal attempts to cover up. Not sure that Obama is directly responsible for all of that, but your position is the Eisenhower "buck stops"

Are these worse or better than before 2009?

And has Congress increased the VA budget as requested by the Executive?

Yeah, it seems to be a bi-partisan conspiracy. I suspect that many employees in the VA are political appointees, or just too hard to fire under federal work laws. The examples of incompetency are breathtaking.

Doctor Fate wrote:

danivon wrote:OK, so there are waiting lists at the VA that exceed 31 days, and internal attempts to cover up. Not sure that Obama is directly responsible for all of that, but your position is the Eisenhower "buck stops"

Are these worse or better than before 2009?

And has Congress increased the VA budget as requested by the Executive?

Congress increased it more than most. Money alone will not solve the problem.

I don't blame Obama. However, he has not expended much energy on fixing the problems that have come to light during his time in office.

freeman3 wrote:Here is the info on the poll you requested, DF.
http://www.vetvoicefoundation.org/press ... ransv2.pdf

Saw an interview with a leader of a veteran's group--who had done two tours in Iraq--who said with regard to privatization that yeah that's just what a veterans want when he has done a few tours in Afghanistan or Iraq--to have his care being decided by some private entity.

I don't know what is causing systemic problems with the VA but I suspect it is a moribund organization that has had difficulty adjusting to large-scale increases in patients as a result of post 9-11 casualties. Maybe it's too much to ask but perhaps we can attempt to get better treatment for veterans without making it a partisan political issue.

danivon wrote:

Doctor Fate wrote:

danivon wrote:OK, so there are waiting lists at the VA that exceed 31 days, and internal attempts to cover up. Not sure that Obama is directly responsible for all of that, but your position is the Eisenhower "buck stops"

Are these worse or better than before 2009?

And has Congress increased the VA budget as requested by the Executive?

Congress increased it more than most. Money alone will not solve the problem.

"most"?

The absolute dollar figure for total budget has gone up. But when you factor in inflation, and then look at whether workload has increased (I am guessing that 10 years or so of conflict in Iraq, combined with the ageing of the Vietnam era vets is having some impact), is funding keeping up with the demand?

To me, it is imperative that as well as being prepared to pay for wars ( which governments can always find money for) we should be prepared to pay for the long term consequences on those who fight in them.

I don't blame Obama. However, he has not expended much energy on fixing the problems that have come to light during his time in office.

OK. Because I was asking Hacker what it was that he was blaming Obama for.

Doctor Fate wrote:

danivon wrote:

Doctor Fate wrote:

danivon wrote:OK, so there are waiting lists at the VA that exceed 31 days, and internal attempts to cover up. Not sure that Obama is directly responsible for all of that, but your position is the Eisenhower "buck stops"

Are these worse or better than before 2009?

And has Congress increased the VA budget as requested by the Executive?

Congress increased it more than most. Money alone will not solve the problem.

"most"?

The absolute dollar figure for total budget has gone up. But when you factor in inflation, and then look at whether workload has increased (I am guessing that 10 years or so of conflict in Iraq, combined with the ageing of the Vietnam era vets is having some impact), is funding keeping up with the demand?

A 5.6% increase for one year far outpaces inflation.

danivon wrote:That compares just 2 years. And does not account for two other factors - the number of people needing treatment or care, and the actual treatment/care they need.

A starting point would be to look at cost per patient (and looking at medical inflation which is at a different rate to general inflation) and also over a longer period.

Doctor Fate wrote:

danivon wrote:That compares just 2 years. And does not account for two other factors - the number of people needing treatment or care, and the actual treatment/care they need.

A starting point would be to look at cost per patient (and looking at medical inflation which is at a different rate to general inflation) and also over a longer period.

Feel free.

My bigger point: money alone will not solve this. The VA needs to get dissected, if not destroyed, and reassembled. It's a mess.

People should be fired. Their actions led to deaths of many Vets.

If Obama cares so much, why not talk about it often? Why not go on every show that will have him and lay out a plan to overhaul the VA?

I know why. You know why.