VA falls short of goal on patient waits

STEVEN A. McCALEB
103 ALVERADO DRIVE
LONG BEACH, MISSISSIPPI 39560
PHONE & FAX: (228)-868-8428
E-MAIL: mccaleb4thdist@aol.com
WEB SITE: www.mississippiwebsite.com

Aging veteran population, understaffed facilities cited

By MIKE CUMMINGS
THE SUN HERALD

Monday, April 30, 2007

The Biloxi, Mississippi, Veterans Hospital must be the worst
veterans hospital in the U.S..

I waited one year for an appointment to see a dermatologist,
and I never did get to see a doctor.

This veterans hospital is operated by Medical Interns, most from
New Orleans.

I come under the 30, 30, 30 rule, which means:

You must live within 30 miles from the veterans hospital.

you will be seen by a doctor (in this case an intern) within 30 minutes of your appointment.

And you will be seen by the doctor (in this case an intern) know more than 30 minutes.

I have had to reschedule many appointment because of over filling appointment.

WASHINGTON - The Department of Veterans Affairs has failed to meet a goal it set for itself six years ago to assure veterans of medical appointments within 30 days of their request, according to a new survey by the General Accounting Office.

The Department of Veterans Affairs could care less about our nations veterans.

If they did care about us the problems within the veterans hospital would be fixed.

Giving peanut farmers millions of out tax dollars in Pork spending is more important that great care of a veteran.

Gary Butterfield, a spokesman for the Gulf Coast VA health care system, which ranges from Gulfport to Panama City, Fla., acknowledged that there are delays at Gulf Coast VA clinics, but said that overall the problem is being kept at bay. Local officials expect to serve 42,000 veterans this year, a 20 percent increase from 1999's total of 35,000.

Since it is known there will be a 20 percent increase in veterans using the Biloxi veterans hospital, I would think our so-called Congressmen would have the veterans hospital hire more doctors.

I would like to see an investigation showing why veterans with third party insurance, which the veterans hospitals bill.

Have little to no problems getting appointment over the veterans which has know insurance at all.

I would also like to see and investigation showing the amount of money the Biloxi, veterans hospital has received in the billing of third party billing over the past five (5) years.

Butterfield said that the Gulf Coast had seen a large influx of patients over the last few years, a result of normal aging and the overall population boom experienced by the Gulf Coast.

Another reason to hire more doctors and nurses to fill the needs of the veterans.

"We don't treat everyone the same," he said. "It's not first-come, first-serve. When a new patient comes in, the first thing we do is make an assessment of their need. The patients in most urgent need are given priority."

I cannot speak for other veterans, but in my case it has been  50/50.

When the veterans hospital was billing my third party insurance I seem to have know problem getting an appointment.

But now that I not billed for third party insurance it takes forever to get an appointment.

I am a priority one (1) veteran, and I have call the veterans administration for an explanation on how the priority system works.

I have not gotten an answer yet, so I believe the veterans administration does not actually have a priority system in place.  

Butterfield said veterans who use the VA health system for the first time may experience delays most frequently. A 1993 GAO study found that veterans often waited eight to nine weeks for appointments at VA clinics. In 1995 the VA established a goal that all nonurgent outpatient appointments be scheduled within 30 days of the request and called on clinics to meet this goal by 1998.

I waited a year for an appointment to get my teeth cleaned, there is only one person which clean teeth and she travels to other veterans hospitals.

I would think each hospital would have there own dental staff.

The report issued in early October showed that while VA facilities had made strides in improving the timeliness of their service, long waiting periods persist.

First they state, "Gary Butterfield, a spokesman for the Gulf Coast VA health care system, which ranges from Gulfport to Panama City, Fla., acknowledged that there are delays at Gulf Coast VA clinics, but said that overall the problem is being kept at bay."

Then they say, "The report issued in early October showed that while VA facilities had made strides in improving the timeliness of their service, long waiting periods persist."

So which is it?

The GAO visited 54 specialty care clinics at 10 VA medical centers across the country and found that only one-third of the clinics met the 30-day standard. Waiting times at the remaining two-thirds ranged from 33 days at a urology clinic to 282 days, about nine months, at an optometry office. Veterans seeking treatment at a gastroenterology clinic had to wait more than 210 days for an appointment, and patients at an orthopedic clinic waited about 180 days.

Since it is known the "30-day standard" is not working, why have they not hired more doctors and nurses to meet the demands of our veterans?

The report did not identify specific clinics. The study included VA data from March showing that less than half of the VA's 11,586 primary care clinics met the 30-day standard. The same held true for the VA's 1,440 cardiology clinics.

This tells me that the veterans administration places our veterans way down the list of things to do.

When we are a piece, veterans are treated like second class citizens.

But when we are at war, veterans are treated a little better.

Veterans Hospitals worry more about how mush money they can make on third party insurance than taking care of all veterans.

David Balduf, a veterans service officer for Jackson County, said Gulf Coast veterans often experience long appointment delays and attributed the problem to an aging veteran population combined with understaffed facilities.

A privately owned hospital has the doctors and staff needed to accommodate the needs of the people.

But the veterans hospitals have very few doctors and very little staff to accommodate the veterans.

"You've got a whole lot of veterans from WWII," Balduf said. "They're getting up in age, and while they don't have service-connected disabilities, they are getting sick. The VA will provide medication, but the veteran has to see a VA doctor to get the drugs."

It sounds like the veterans hospital is doing the veteran a favor by treating the veterans.

There are so few veteran doctors I can see why it takes so long for a veteran to be seen.

Balduf said that VA clinics along the Gulf Coast are swamped by thousands of older veterans seeking appointments to obtain the cheap medication. He said Congress should take steps to allow VA facilities to hire more doctors and to allow veterans to obtain cheap medication from private doctors.

If our Congress would stop spending our tax dollars on there pet projects, and take care of the veterans, their would be more tax money to hire the doctors and staff needed to care for our veterans.

 STEVEN A. McCALEB
COMMENTARY
MY OPINION

April 30, 2007